India's western state of Maharashtra has been accounted for about 70% of the national caseload.
Experts were quoted in the BBC News as saying that poor adherence to safety protocols was driving the surge in cases. There has been an argument as some experts say the new variants could be the reason.
It has been learnt that new cases of coronavirus had begun to dip at the beginning of 2021 with daily infections falling to less than 20,000 from a peak of over 90,000 in September.
But the last few weeks have witnessed a sharp uptick. India's several states including Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh have seen a sharp rise in cases, while Maharashtra tops the table. India has so far recorded more than 11 million cases and 160,000 deaths.
Officials in Mumbai, Maharashtra's capital, have been quoted in BBC as saying that they woud roll out random rapid tests in crowded areas including shopping centres and train stations.
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