BANGKOK (REUTERS, BLOOMBERG) - Thailand on Saturday (Aug 7) reported 21,838 coronavirus cases and 212 deaths, both new records, data from the country's Covid-19 task force showed.

The new cases brought total infections to 736,522 and total fatalities to 6,066 since the pandemic began last year.

About 60 per cent of Thailand's new coronavirus cases in recent days have been reported from outside the capital region, as the country braces itself for the emergence of new Covid-19 clusters.

Over the past several weeks, Delta-variant cases have surged in nearly all provinces in Thailand, with nearly 80 per cent of new infections nationwide now caused by the strain first detected in India.

While Covid- 19 restrictions may not result in a rapid decline in infections, they will help slow the spread and reduce pressure on the healthcare system as the pandemic is likely to ease only from next month or October, Thai health officials have said.

While nearly 70 per cent of residents in Bangkok have received their first shot, only about 21 per cent of the population nationwide have got their first jabs, Health Ministry data showed.