India’s capital considering curfew amid coronavirus surge

India’s capital on Thursday said it is considering a nighttime curfew amid its latest coronavirus surge, The Associated Press reported.  

The New Delhi government disclosed the development during a court hearing on a plea to increase COVID-19 testing facilities in the city, the news outlet reported. The court asked what measures were being taken to control the spike in daily cases.

New Delhi has recorded the most cases out of any state in India over the last three weeks, the AP notes, and has averaged more than 100 fatalities every day for two straight weeks. The surge has strained the city’s health care system and hospitals. 

New Delhi’s surge started at the end of October and has reached records this month.

The city reported a record 8,593 new cases of COVID-19 on Nov. 11, according to the AP. In addition, nearly 2,300 deaths were reported in the city last month. 

Meanwhile, new infections in India overall have been declining after peaking in September, the AP notes. India passed 9 million COVID-19 cases on Friday, second only to the U.S. in cases globally.

India has recorded 9.26 million cumulative cases so far, according to the AP. More than 135,000 Indians have died.