New Delhi : After witnessing the highest ever single-day spike in the number of Covid2019 cases, the Delhi government has decided to impose a strict weekend curfew in the national capital, starting 10 pm on Friday.

The AAP government has also ordered all the malls, auditoriums and spas to shut shop from 16 April till further orders. Cinema halls, however, have been allowed to remain open during the weekdays, but can function with only 30 per cent occupancy.

"I had a meeting with the L-G. We have decided to impose weekend curfew in Delhi. This is because people generally go out for work on weekdays and entertainment on weekends. In order to break the chain we are imposing a weekend curfew, exempting essential services," said Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday.

According to the new restrictions, no dine-in options will be allowed in restaurants and eateries and only home deliveries will be permitted. The weekend curfew will start at 10 pm on Friday to 6 am on Monday. However, all essential services will remain functional.

A night curfew has also been imposed in Noida and Ghaziabad Friday onwards.

The decision comes two days after the Maharashtra government announced strict restrictions for the next two weeks in wake of the alarming surge in the number of infections. However, unlike Delhi, Maharashtra has also closed all movie theatres as well. All television and film shoots have been shut down till 1 May.

The country is reeling under a severe second wave of the novel Coronavirus, with the number of caseloads surpassing last year's records. On Thursday, India recorded a record two lakh cases during the last 24 hours and over 1,038 deaths.

The national capital too reported 17,282 fresh cases in the last 24 hours, its highest spike so far. The number of daily Covid deaths has also been increasing, with 104 deaths recorded on Wednesday alone.