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than half of the 89,129 new cases reported by the national health ministry in the last 24 hours, with a record 47,827 infections.

The state’s chief minister warned citizens of a lockdown if cases continued to rise at their current rate, saying medical infrastructure would be inadequate in a couple of weeks.

In the southern state of Karnataka, home to India’s tech capital Bengaluru, authorities ordered gyms to be closed, barred functions at religious places and told cinema halls, bars, pubs and restaurants to limit the number of people allowed in.

India’s capital, New Delhi recorded more than 3,500 cases, its highest this year, but its chief minister ruled out another lockdown for now.

Daily coronavirus cases have surged from around 15,000 in early March to 88,000 or so at the start of April.

In Europe, Italy began a strict Easter lockdown yesterday, with the entire country considered a high-risk “red zone” during a time when families usually hold reunions.

New curbs were also coming into force yesterday in France, where authorities are scrambling to deal with a dramatic rise in cases that has overwhelmed hospitals in Paris.

Restrictions had been already intensified in other European nations such as Belgium. In Germany, the government scrapped plans for a strict Easter lockdown, but Chancellor Angela Merkel urged people to limit their social contacts ahead of the break.

Across the Atlantic, fresh curbs were also imposed ahead of Easter in Ontario and Quebec, Canada’s two most populous provinces.

And in the Philippines, a lockdown affecting more than 24 million people was being extended for another week as authorities deploy tents and health workers to overwhelmed hospitals.

The pandemic has claimed more than 2.8 million lives worldwide.

But the United States, the hardest-hit nation, became the first country to administer at least one shot to more than 100 million people -- around half of its adult population.

President Joe Biden has vowed to cover the vast majority within weeks.

But infections remain on the rise in parts of the US, and Biden urged Americans to keep wearing masks and taking other precautions.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its guidance to say that fully vaccinated people can travel without observing quarantines, although they should still wear masks.

One of the worst Covid-19 outbreaks is devastating Brazil, which has reported more deaths than any country after the United States.

It is the epicentre of an unfolding crisis in Latin America, where infections have soared past 25 million, likely fuelled by a more contagious variant first detected in Brazil.

The devastation in Brazil has frightened neighbours already battling their own surging caseloads.

Peru has gone into an Easter lockdown, Chile has closed all borders, Ecuador announced fresh restrictions and Bolivia sealed its border with Brazil.