NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said it was critical to stop what he called the "emerging second peak" of Covid with decisive steps including micro-containment zones, increased testing and enforcement of restrictions like masks, at a meeting with Chief Ministers amid a worrying spike in Covid cases in some states.

"If we don't stop this pandemic right now, then there could be a nationwide outbreak. We have to immediately stop the emerging second peak and take big and decisive steps," Modi told the chief ministers.

"The self-confidence that we gained in our corona fight should not turn into overconfidence. Our success should not be the reason for carelessness," he warned.

He stressed that initiatives needed to be taken without creating a state of panic among people.

Speaking on the districts that had seen a surge in the past few days, the PM said it was worth considering that these were also the zones where testing and vaccination was comparatively less.

The Prime Minister called for increased RT-PCR tests for proper testing and tracking of the infection and a focus on smaller towns.

"Over 70 per cent of the tests should be RTPCR. States should not rely on Rapid Antigen Tests," said PM Modi, referring to Kerala, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh.

The Prime Minister noted that tier 2 and 3 towns, which had escaped the first wave, were getting affected this time round. It would not take much for the virus to spread to villages from there, which would overwhelm the health care system of the country, he said.

Modi also cautioned against vaccine wastage in some states. "This is something that must not happen and needs urgent attention," he said.