The number of Covid-19 jabs administered globally surpassed the one-billion mark on Saturday, offering hope after months of pandemic misery, even as the number of coronavirus cases worldwide hit a new daily record, mainly to an explosion of the virus in India.

At least 1,002,938,540 doses have been administered in 207 countries and territories, according to an AFP tally. Nevertheless, the number of new infections topped 893,000 worldwide on Friday, a new daily record.

And India accounted for more than a third of these, with authorities there announcing 346,786 new cases on Saturday, a record for a single country since the start of the pandemic. The pandemic has now killed more than three million people worldwide since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019.

And India, with its population of 1.3 billion, has become the new hotspot, with the current surge blamed on a new virus variant and recent "super spreader" public events. The country reported 2,624 new deaths in the past 24 hours.

Overwhelmed by the devastating new surge, the Indian government is scrambling to organize special trains to get oxygen supplies to the worst-hit cities. One "oxygen express" carrying 30,000 liters of oxygen arrived in northern Lucknow at dawn on Saturday, where armed guards were waiting to escort trucks to hospitals.

The Indian air force is also being used to transport oxygen tankers and other supplies around the country and to bring oxygen equipment from Singapore. Thailand is also grappling with a spiraling caseload. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha said Saturday that more than 1,400 Covid-19 patients are waiting to be hospitalized. "If the outbreak becomes more severe, (the government) may consider reducing hospital quarantine for asymptomatic people from 14 days to 10 days," he said in a move intended to free up hospital beds.