Kerala reports 76 new Omicron cases, tally rises to 421

Kerala on Wednesday reported 76 new Covid-19 cases due to the Omicron variant. Besides, an Omicron cluster has emerged in Pathanamthitta district, said Health Minister Veena George.

The minister said the cluster has been reported at a private nursing college where students were believed to have got infected from a person who had recently come from abroad. Of the 76 new cases confirmed, 59 had travelled from low-risk countries, seven from high-risk countries and nine infected through contact.

So far, 421 Omicron cases have been reported in Kerala while 290 of them are people who had travelled from countries considered low-risk.

Meanwhile, Covid-19 cases have gone up in Kerala and the test positivity rate has jumped from 4 per cent to 14 per cent during the last week.