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Volunteers distributing pamphlets during an awareness campaign on the spread of Covid-19 in Mumbai on Tuesday.
The Indian government on Wednesday warned that a breach of guidelines on testing and other measures to contain Covid-19 could worsen a recent spurt in infections in many states, particularly after it detected several variants.
Nearly a month after the health minister declared that Covid-19 had been contained, states such as Maharashtra and Kerala have reported a surge in cases, as reluctance grows over mask-wearing and social distancing norms.
India's tally of infections stood at 11.03 million on Wednesday, with 13,742 new cases over the past 24 hours, health ministry data showed, while 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 (a) new strain of virus... could compound the situation," the health ministry said in a statement that singled 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.
