Indian authorities have started to impose stringent rules to prevent mass gatherings at parties and public venues ahead of new year celebrations as the nation sees a spike in Covid-19 infections.

Night curfews have been imposed in all major cities and restaurants ordered to limit customers, officials said, according to Reuters.

Police in the financial capital Mumbai prohibited public gatherings of five or more residents until January 7 as it recorded a sharp jump in cases with 2,510 infections, the highest daily increase since May, local authorities said.

“It is being seen that social gatherings are going on in an unrestricted manner with people flouting all social distancing norms ... we are trying our best to control the spread of the virus,” said Rajesh Tope, the health minister of the western state of Maharashtra of which Mumbai is the capital.