Indian authorities are restricting major religious festivals that start this week and attract huge crowds, warning that a new Covid-19 wave had already begun in the financial capital Mumbai.

“The third wave is not coming, it is already here,” Mumbai's mayor Kishori Pednekar told reporters, according to AFP.

“We can celebrate festivals later. Let us first prioritise the lives and health of our citizens,” added Uddhav Thackeray, the chief minister of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital.

In the neighbouring state of Karnataka, a night curfew will remain in place and districts posting higher positive test levels will be banned from holding Ganesh celebrations.

The southern state of Tamil Nadu has banned public festival celebrations, while the eastern state of West Bengal was expected to impose curbs on the nine-day Durga Puja in October.