Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 27 (IANS): With the detection of a new Covid variant -- Omicron -- in South Africa, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said on Saturday the state is mulling quarantine for international passengers arriving to the state.

Speaking to mediapersons here, George said the Centre is in touch with the states and utmost caution has been advised.

The state will follow the directives coming from the Centre, she added.

"So far, things are under control. But in the wake of reports of a new variant, the accepted Covid protocols -- use of sanitisers, masks and social distancing -- have to be strictly observed. With regard to quarantine for those arriving from abroad, the Centre's guidelines are expected and we will also be cautious on that aspect," said George.

The scare of the new variant comes at a time when Kerala for the past few months has been registering 50 per cent of the daily new cases in the country, and has a similar record of having a high percentage of the total number of active cases.