Thailand will increase the number of people required to isolate at home with Covid-19 to 100,000, health officials have said, as capacity in healthcare facilities dwindles amid a surge in cases driven by the Delta variant of the virus, Reuters reports.

“There are currently 60,000 patients in home isolation and we expect to expand that capacity to 100,000,” health official Natthapong Wongwiwat, told a news briefing.

Earlier in the pandemic, all Covid-19 patients in Thailand were admitted to hospitals, but last month authorities introduced home isolation for more than 30,000 people with minor or no symptoms for Bangkok and surrounding provinces.

The Southeast Asian country's coronavirus taskforce on Monday reported 17,970 new cases, bringing its total caseload to 633,284 infections, with 5,074 deaths.