Kerala logs 17 new Omicron cases

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala on Monday reported 17 fresh cases of Omicron taking the total number of people infected with the new variant of COVID-19 to 345, the state health department said here.

Of the 17 patients reported on Monday, eight were from Ernakulam district, two from Palakkad and one each from Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Thrissur, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad, a health department release said.

Of these, 13 of the Omicron-infected persons had come from low-risk nations and four from high-risk countries.

While nine patients had come from UAE, the remaining came from Qatar, Poland, UK and the US.

"With this, Omicron has been confirmed for a total of 345 people in the state. Of them, 231 came from low-risk countries and 78 from high-risk countries. A total of 34 people were infected through contact," the release said.