The government on Monday recorded 186 new coronavirus cases, for a total of 23,557 since the pandemic began a year ago. No new deaths were reported, leaving the count at 79.

Of the 186 new cases, only 35 were found during active testing, a sharp drop from recent days. The number of cases reported by hospitals, however, rose to 141. An additional 10 infections were found in people arriving from abroad.

The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said the 35 new cases diagnosed through active testing comprised 31 in Samut Sakhon, including six Thais, and four in neighbouring Samut Songkhram.

CCSA assistant spokeswoman Apisamai Srirangsun warned of a new cluster apparently spread by a woman living in Samut Songkhram's Ampawa district.

The woman had brought pork from Photharam district in Ratchaburi to Muang district of Samut Sakhon, where she sold it at a Mahachai market, before returning home to Ampawa.

The assistant spokeswoman said the woman was infected with the virus on Jan 28, and her daughter-in-law, who lived in the same house, tested positive two days later.

The Ampawa woman was thought to be a super spreader linked to a total of 87 cases: 22 in Samut Sakhon, five in Phetchaburi and one each in Bangkok, Ratchaburi and Suphan Buri.

"This cluster is due to her pattern of frequent travel," the assistant spokeswoman said, adding that details would be released later.