Kerala to observe all international arrivals after passenger from Congo tests positive for Omicron

After a passenger from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is not listed by the Centre as a high-risk country, turned positive for the Omicron variant of Covid-19, the Kerala Health Department Thursday decided to strictly implement self-observation for all international passengers arriving in the state.

Kerala on Wednesday had reported four more Omicron cases, one of them the traveler from Congo, taking the total cases in the state to five.

After a review meeting, Health Minister Veena George said more samples of passengers who turn positive for Covid-19 would be sent for genome sequencing.