Four more new cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus were detected from Kerala on Monday, December 20, taking the overall tally to 15, the state Health Department said. Two cases of the variant were detected in patients aged 41 and 67. They are the mother and grandmother of a 17-year-old patient in Thiruvananthapuram, who came from the UK on December 9 along with his father, mother and sister. His grandmother was on the list of contacts.
Two other cases of the Omicron variant were detected from Thiruvananthapuram — a 32-year old man came from Nigeria on December 17 and a 27 year-old woman who was included in the contact list of a flight passenger. The woman arrived in Kerala from the UK on December 12. The samples of the patients were sent to the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology in Thiruvananthapuram, where it was confirmed that they were infected with the Omicron variant.
The state had detected its first Omicron case on December 12 in Ernakulam district when a person who had returned from the UK tested positive.
Meanwhile, five more cases of Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus were found in Karnataka, taking the total to 19. According to Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar, the five cases were detected on Sunday in Dharwad, Bhadravathi in Shivamogga district, Udupi and Mangaluru. He said a 54-year old man from Dharwad, a 20-year old woman from Bhadravathi, a 82-year old man and a 73-year old woman from Udupi, and a 19-year old woman from Mangaluru contracted the Omicron variant.
All the infected people have been inoculated with both doses of the Covishield vaccine. Their travel history and contacts with international travellers are being ascertained. None of them has any COVID-19 symptoms and were healthy, the Health Department said.
The person isolated in Bhadravathi was in contact with 218 people and all of them underwent tests. Out of them, 26 have tested positive. Their samples have been sent for further probe, the department added.
Further, 18 people who were the primary and secondary contacts of the 19-year old student in Mangaluru were found COVID-19 infected.