India has reported the year’s biggest daily increase in Covid-19 cases, with 25,320 new infections, a day ahead of a lockdown in the western state of Maharashtra, the epicentre of the renewed surge.

The jump was the biggest since Dec 16, according to federal health data. India is the third-most affected country globally with 11.36 million cases, behind the United States and Brazil.

India’s Covid-19 deaths rose by 161 to 158,607 over the last 24 hours, compared to an average of about 100 since early February.