Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has estimated the currently severe Covid-19 situation will affect the country for the next two to three weeks, four weeks at most.

Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha said Gen Prayut told this to a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, where the PM added that relevant agencies must let people know the reality of the situation.

The country has logged more than 10,000 new cases daily in recent days with daily fatalities frequently topping 100.

The kingdom had a record high of 16,533 new Covid-19 cases and 133 new fatalities over the past 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry reported on Wednesday morning.

Mr Sathit said the prime minister has given a directive that in 14 days lockdown and curfew measures are to be reviewed, with any further action based on the severity of the situation at that time.

Any decision to step up restrictions after 14 days rests with the Department of Disease Control and the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, he said.

The deputy public health minister said the cabinet meeting discussion took in measures underway to bring down the Covid-19 curve. Among them was sending those infected back to their home provinces for treatment in order to alleviate overcrowding at hospitals and medical facilities in Bangkok and other hard-hit provinces.