NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s COVID-19 situation is turning from “bad to worse,” a senior government official said on Tuesday, as infections surge across several states.

A health worker collects a swab sample from a woman during a rapid antigen testing campaign for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), on a street in Mumbai, India, March 30, 2021. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

“Remember if the cases are more, they will eventually overwhelm the system”, senior health official Vinod Kumar Paul told a news conference.

His comments come on the back of Maharashtra – home to the country’s financial capital, Mumbai – seeing a rapid rise in cases over the past few weeks, registering 40,414 last Sunday. The March 28 increase is cases is the state’s highest rise yet, leading to multiple cautionary statements from government officials and reports of a possible second lockdown gaining traction.

“We can’t afford a lockdown. We’ve asked the Chief Minister to consider other options. Due to rising cases, he has directed the administration to prepare for a lockdown but that doesn’t mean that a lockdown is inevitable. If people follow rules, it can be avoided,” NCP leader Nawab Malik told ANI on March 29.

Meanwhile the country’s total case tally has risen rapidly, touching 1,20,95,855 at last count. Six states have contributed to the subcontinent’s jump in COVID-19 cases – Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat – making up over 70% of new cases.

While measures to combat the spread of a second wave have been taken – Maharashtra has enforced a night curfew across the state while Karnataka has clamped down on public gatherings and festival celebrations have been banned across the country – there seem to be no signs of the virus slowing down.