TOKYO - Yamaha Motor Co said on Monday it will temporarily suspend its motorcycle production at two plants in India to protect employees from a surge in coronavirus infections.

The plants in Surajpur, Uttar Pradesh and Chennai in Tamil Nadu state will halt production between May 15 and 31, a spokesman for the Japanese company said.

A decision on whether the plants will resume production in June onwards will be made after assessing the situation, he said. He did not say whether cases of COVID-19 had been reported at either of the plants.

Many Indian states have imposed strict lockdowns over the past month as COVID-19 infection rates soared.

The number of new coronavirus cases and deaths held close to record daily highs on Monday, increasing calls for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to fully lock down the world's second-most populous country. 

(Reporting by Maki Shiraki, Writing by Eimi Yamamitsu, Editing by Susan Fenton) ((eimi.yamamitsu@thomsonreuters.com;))