NEW DELHI (NYTIMES) India's election commission has banned public campaign rallies for a week as coronavirus cases, fuelled by the Omicron variant, soared in large parts of the country.

But the local assembly elections in five states, representing a population of about 250 million, would proceed as planned starting in February, the commission said.

India recorded 160,000 known cases on Sunday (Jan 9), with the number of new cases rising sixfold in one week.

The major urban centres of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata have been hit hardest.

Mr Sushil Chandra, India's chief election commissioner, said the moratorium on rallies would be reviewed next Saturday based on the pandemic trends.

"Political parties and candidates are advised to conduct their campaign as much as possible through digital and virtual media platforms," Mr Chandra said on Saturday.

He noted that the commission had increased the number of polling stations, reduced the number of voters per booth and ensured that poll workers would receive booster vaccine shots.

About half of the more than 180 million eligible voters across the five states were fully vaccinated, and more than 80 per cent had received one dose, he said.

The spread of a new wave fuelled by Omicron has mirrored that of the Delta wave that ravaged India in the spring, which also began in major cities before trickling to the rest of the country.

Scientists are concerned that a repeat of that pattern in the coming weeks could coincide with preparations for elections.

Already, the virus's reproduction rate seems to be increasing in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, the two most populous of the states up for elections.

The true number of infections was probably undercounted in official data as a large number of the infected people were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms and did not test.

The number of tests has increased in recent days, particularly in major cities.

Nationwide, nearly one in every 10 tests is returning positive.

Some areas, including the city of Kolkata, have a test positivity rate of more than 50 per cent. Fewer patients appear to be requiring hospitalisation, compared with the spring wave.

But health experts remain concerned that the fast rate of spread, with Omicron managing to infect even the vaccinated, could still overwhelm the health system.

New Delhi remained locked down for the weekend, as security forces operated a strict curfew.

Several other states and cities across India are also enforcing night-time curfews and movement limits.

In Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, officials moved to impose movement restrictions on Sunday. But it caused a crowded rush on shopping centres on Saturday, as people tried to squeeze in last-minute shopping before a local harvest festival.