Bangkok, Aug 17 (IANS): Thailand extended the ongoing semi-lockdown imposed in the 29 most affected provinces till the end of August, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration said.

The only easing measure applies to banks and financial institutions located inside malls, which are allowed to reopen from Wednesday, according to the CCSA.

The move comes as the country reported over 21,000 daily new cases for six consecutive days with no signs of decline, reports Xinhua news agency.

Official data from the CCSA showed that 21,157 new Covid-19 cases were recorded over the past 24 hours, raising the country's total caseload to 928,314.

The death toll also rose by 182 to 7,734.

Thailand is battling the worst-ever outbreak of the coronavirus, which started in April and led to infections of nearly 900,000 people.

Since mid July, the highly infectious delta variant has become the dominant strain in the country, which puts additional pressure on the vaccination progress.

Till date, Thailand has administered over 23.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, with over 7 per cent of its nearly 70 million population having been fully inoculated.