Phnom Penh, Aug 22 (IANS): Cambodia's Ministry of Health (MoH) on Sunday said another 163 new cases of the Delta Covid-19 variant were confirmed, bringing the total number of such cases in the Southeast Asian nation to 999.

"So far, the Delta variant has hit 23 out of the kingdom's 25 cities and provinces," the MoH said in a statement, adding that only in Kep and Kratie provinces the variant has not been found yet, Xinhua news agency reported.

Health Minister Mam Bunheng renewed his call on people across the country to be more cautious as the Delta variant is more contagious than other previously circulating strains.

"Please continue implementing the guideline on the 3 do's and 3 don'ts strictly to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and its variants," he said in the statement.

The 3 do's include wearing a face mask, washing hands regularly, and maintaining physical distancing of 1.5 meters, and the 3 don'ts are avoiding confined and enclosed spaces, avoiding crowded spaces, and avoiding touching each other.

Cambodia on Sunday also reported 496 new Covid-19 cases, lifting the national total caseload to 89,231, the MoH said, adding that 14 more fatalities had been recorded, bringing the overall death toll to 1,792.

Another 575 patients had recovered, taking the total number of recoveries to 85,081, the MoH added.

The country launched a Covid-19 vaccination drive on February 10, targeting to inoculate 12 million people, or 75 per cent of the kingdom's 16-million population by the end of this year.

As of Saturday, some 9.62 million people, or 60 per cent of the total population, have received at least one vaccine dose, while 7.8 million of them have received both required shots, the MoH said.