France, April 23 -- Coronavirus infections spiked in India's national capital Delhi and other nearby cities as experts blamed the surge onthe abrupt easing of health restrictions, the reopening of travel and reckless behaviour.

India posted a 66 percent rise in daily caseson Wednesday with 2,067 new infections, but down from a staggering hike of 90 percent it reported just two days earlier.

Mathematicians tracking the pandemic warned infections could rapidly rise in the country, which has reported 43 million cases and 522,000 deaths although the tally is disputed as an undercount.

"The new numbers are a fraction of the 400,000 cases India was reporting daily last summer but still we need to be cautious," a senior health department offi...