India reports a record of more than 200,000 new COVID-19 cases in a single day

April 15 (UPI) -- India reported 200,000 new COVID-19 cases and more than 1,000 deaths Thursday amid a second surge in the virus.

The nation has reported more than 1.9 million new cases and 10,600 deaths since the beginning of this month, including 652,000 infections between April 1 and April 7, according to tallies by CNBC.

Thursday's increase was the highest daily number of new cases since the start of the pandemic and more than double the previous record in 2020.

Earlier this week, India surpassed Brazil in total infections since the start of the pandemic with 14.07 million cases, trailing only the United States, which has 31.48 million, according to data gathered by Johns Hopkins University.

There is no national stay-at-home order in India, but the western state of Maharashtra, which is home to India's financial capital Mumbai, instituted a lockdown on Wednesday that will last through May 1.

The state's chief minister ordered that only essential services such as public transport and grocery stores will be operational between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m., and people will not be permitted in public spaces without a valid reason.

Epidemiologist Giridhara Babu of the Public Health Foundation of India told NPR that newer variants of the virus are likely the cause for the surge in cases, adding that many of those infected in this second wave are asymptomatic.

"But when the surge occurs, even 5% to 10% will be a large number requiring hospitalizations," Babu said.

The surge in cases has placed a strain on India's hospital system, with a line of more than 100 ambulances seen waiting to transfer patients to a hospital in the city of Ahmedabad.

India's health ministry showed it has administered more than 110 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it began its inoculation push in January.

The country also recently approved Russia's Sputnik V vaccine for emergency use, adding a third to its arsenal.