Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala on Friday recorded 44 new cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus taking the total tally to 107.

Out of the total cases, 29 individuals who tested positive for the variant arrived from UAE and 23 arrived from UK, Health Minister Veena George said in a press conference on Friday.

While a total of 41 patients came from high-risk countries, 52 arrived from low-risk countries and 14 were diagnosed with the disease through contact.

Of the 44 cases, 10 had come from high-risk countries and 27 from low-risk countries. Seven people were infected through contact, she said.

The maximum number of new Omicron cases were detected in Ernakulam (12) followed by Kollam (10), Thiruvananthapuram (8), Thrissur (4),two each in Kottayam, Palakkad, Malappuram, and Kannur, and one each in Alappuzha and Idukki.

Ernakulam has the highest number of active Omicron cases (37) followed by Thiruvananthapuram (26).

One person has recovered from the Omicron variant so far.

The confirmation was made following detailed tests done at the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology.

The minister advised the public to excercise extreme caution on New Year's eve and the upcoming days to prevent community spread of the variant.

"The variant has a high a rate of transmission. We need to prevent its community spread at all costs. Kindly excercise caution and follow all Covid protocols in the upcoming days," she said.