Coronavirus: India braces for lockdown as cases soar; Australia to continue AstraZeneca jab despite blood clot case

India’s Maharashtra state accounted for more than half of the 89,129 new infections reported in the last 24 hours

The Philippines will extend a coronavirus lockdown of more than 24 million people as it deploys tents and health workers to overwhelmed hospitals

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A woman receives the Covishield Covid-19 vaccine at a health centre in Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir. Photo: AP

Published: 4:13pm, 3 Apr 2021Updated: 11:12pm, 3 Apr 2021

India’s biggest cities braced for stricter lockdowns and other Covid-19 curbs on Saturday as infections hit a six-month high, as a month-long surge continued in the country third-worst hit by the pandemic.

India’s richest state, Maharashtra, accounted for more 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, 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.

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