The government on Friday reported 1,582 new Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours, setting a record for the third consecutive day and raising the total to 39,038.

Dr Chawetsan Namwat of the Department of Disease Control said 1,577 cases were local infections in 66 provinces and five were imported.

Of the local infections, 921 were confirmed at hospitals and 656 detected in mass testing. Normally, new cases were confirmed 5-7 days after infection, he said.

Bangkok logged 312 new cases, Chiang Mai 272, Chon Buri 111, Prachuap Khiri Khan 100, Songkhla 89 and Lampang 59.

"The new cases were visitors to entertainment places and people close to them," Dr Chawetsan said.

The southern provinces of Ranong and Satun, which had not seen any cases this month, saw their first on Thursday — a father and a child in Ranong who had visited Bangkok and a Japanese tourist in Satun.  All provinces already had Covid-19 cases this month, he said.

The death toll remained unchanged at 97.

Dr Chawetsan said that this month clusters of more than 100 Covid-19 cases were found in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chon Buri, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Samut Prakan, Narathiwat, Samut Sakhon, Pathum Thani, Sa Kaeo, Nonthaburi, Rayong, Phuket and Nakhon Pathom.