India should go into lockdown for several weeks to arrest the current devastating surge in Covid cases, top US pandemic advisor Anthony Fauci said.

“I think the most important thing in the immediate is to get oxygen, get supplies, get medication, get PPE, those kinds of things,” the Indian Express daily quoted Fauci as saying in an interview.

“But also, one of the immediate things to do is to essentially call a shutdown of the country,” he said.

“And if you shut down, you don't have to shut down for six months. You can shut down temporarily to put an end to the cycle of transmission,” he added.