India reported 24,492 new coronavirus cases yesterday, the sixth straight day of more than 20,000 infections, as curbs to try to stop the spread of Covid-19 were expanded in parts of the country that have recorded a surge.

Total cases have now risen to 11.41 million, the highest in the world after the United States and Brazil. Deaths increased by 131 to 158,856 in the past 24 hours, data from the health ministry showed.

The government has blamed crowding and a general reluctance to wear masks for the spike, ruling out mutations of the virus as a factor, unlike in the West.

India's worst affected state, Maharashtra, on Monday ordered cinemas, hotels and restaurants to limit guests to half of capacity until the end of the month. Weddings and other social events will also have limited attendance.

Maharashtra has also locked down some districts. Another western state, Gujarat, has also decided to not allow fans into the world's biggest cricket stadium hosting international matches between India and England, after seeing a spurt in cases.

India has vaccinated nearly 26 million people since beginning its inoculation campaign in mid-January. The country aims to vaccinate 300 million of its 1.35 billion people by August, reports Reuters.

Meanwhile, the number of deaths from Covid-19 across Europe passed 900,000 yesterday, according to an AFP tally of official figures provided by health authorities.

At least 2,661,919 million people have died of coronavirus around the world since the outbreak began in December 2019.

Global health experts came under increasing pressure yesterday to clear up questions over the safety of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 shot, as Sweden and Latvia joined countries suspending their use in a further blow to Europe's vaccination rollout.

The EU's drug regulator said it remained "firmly convinced" of the benefits of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine despite several countries suspending its use over blood clot fears.

World Health Organization experts were scheduled to meet yesterday to discuss the vaccine.

After becoming the first country outside of Europe to temporarily delay the AstraZeneca vaccine, Thailand lifted its suspension and premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha received the first jab.

An international expert team that visited China to investigate the origins of Covid-19 has postponed publishing their report, which will now likely appear next week, the WHO said.