New Delhi has gone into a weekend lockdown as India faces a ferocious new coronavirus wave, with more than 200,000 fresh daily cases and families clamouring for drugs and hospital beds.

Many states are clamping down, including hotspot Maharashtra, industry-heavy Gujarat and IT hub Bangalore's home state Karnataka, although restrictions are less onerous than last year.

In the capital New Delhi, which has overtaken Mumbai as the worst-hit Indian city, restaurants, malls, gyms and spas were shut for the weekend, according to AFP.

“Don't panic. All essential services will be available through the weekend,” the city of 25 million people's chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said.