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 Nearly a month after the health minister declared that COVID-19 had
been contained, states such as Maharashtra in the west and Kerala in
the south have reported a surge in cases, as reluctance grows over
mask-wearing and social distancing.
India's infections are the second highest in the world at 11.03
million, swelled in the past 24 hours by 13,742, health ministry
data shows. Deaths rose by a two-week high of 104 to 156,567.
"Any laxity in implementing stringent measures to curb the spread,
especially in view of new strains of virus ... could compound the
situation," the ministry said in a statement singling out nine
states and a federal territory.
India has confirmed the long-time presence of two mutant variants -
N440K and E484Q - in addition to those first detected in Brazil,
Britain and South Africa.
TESTS FALLING
The ministry said that while cases in the states of Chhattisgarh,
Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab, as well as
the federal territory of Jammu and Kashmir, were rising, the
proportion of high-accuracy RT-PCR tests in those places was
falling. Cases have also risen in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and West
Bengal.
In the past week, a third of India's 36 states and union territories
have reported an average of more than 100 new cases each day, with
Kerala and Maharashtra both reporting more than 4,000, in a trend
experts link to the reopening of schools and suburban train
services.
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 The government has also asked
states to speed vaccinations for healthcare and
frontline workers. Just about 11 million people
have received one or two doses in a campaign
that began on Jan. 16, versus a target of 300
million by August.
From March 1, India will start vaccinating
people above 60 and those older than 45 with
health conditions free of charge in about 10,000
government hospitals and for a fee in more than
20,000 private facilities, the government said.
Earlier on Wednesday, a regulatory panel sought
more data from drugmaker Dr. Reddy's
Laboratories for emergency authorisation of
Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, a senior
official with direct knowledge of the
discussions said.
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation
did not immediately reply to a Reuters request
for confirmation.
(Reporting by Krishna N. Das; Editing by
Clarence Fernandez and Andrew Cawthorne)
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