India's capital New Delhi will go into weekend lockdowns to contain a steep increase in COVID-19 infections, the city's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday.

Shopping malls, gyms, dine-out service at restaurants and some weekly markets will be shut during the weekend and only essential services will remain operational, Kejriwal said.

The decision came after India's daily coronavirus caseload doubled in 10 days, with more than 200,000 new infections logged Thursday.

Earlier this week, it overtook Brazil and became the country with the second-highest number of cases worldwide. 

(With input from Reuters and AFP)