Kerala on Sunday reported 45 new cases of the Omicron (B.1.1.529) Covid-19 variant taking the total number of cases due to the variant in the state to 152, the state government said.
Of the 45 new cases, 16 were reported from Ernakulam district, 9 from state capital Thiruvananthapuram and six cases from Thrissur. Pathanamthitta added five cases to the state tally while Alappuzha and Kozhikode each added three cases. Malappuram logged two cases and Wayanad saw one case of the variant on the day, state health minister Veena George said.
As many as nine patients out of the 45 arrived from ‘high risk’ countries and 32 of them from low risk countries, she added. Remaining four cases (three in Alappuzha and one in Thrissur) were infected through contact.
According to the Union ministry of health and family welfare’s statement on Sunday morning, Kerala had 109 Omicron cases of which only one patient was discharged as of then. The ministry also said that 1,525 Omicron cases were recorded across the country.
The state also saw 2,802 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours and added 78 more fatalities – it included 12 who died in the last few days and 66 more that were designated as Covid-related deaths after new guidelines from the Centre – to its death toll. So far, 5,243,289 confirmed infections and 48,113 deaths have been reported from the state.
Among the districts, Thiruvananthapuram with 472 cases, Ernakulam with 434 cases and Thrissur with 342 cases added the most to the state’s tally. They were followed by Kozhikode (338 cases), Kottayam (182 cases), Kollam (172 cases), Kannur (158 cases), Malappuram (138 cases), Alappuzha (134 cases), Pathanamthitta (120 cases), Idukki (99 cases), Palakkad (91 cases), Wayanad (80 cases) and Kasargod (42 cases).
Close to 98% of the state’s eligible population has been administered at least one dose of the vaccine while 79.3% has been fully immunised against the disease, George said. The state has so far administered 26,162,701 first doses and 21,201,510 second doses.
The weekly infection population ratio (WIPR) in six wards across were found to be above 10 and the minister said that there would be “strict restrictions” in these places.
