(Bloomberg) -- Thailand’s national Covid-19 panel headed by the prime minister is meeting to consider imposing stricter movement curbs in Bangkok amid calls for a lockdown as infections continue to climb and medical facilities reach capacity.

“We must consider measures carefully so as not to worsen the health situation or the economy, while also speeding up the pace of vaccinations,” Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha said.

The Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration panel, headed by Prayuth, was due to begin meeting at 2 p.m. local time Friday to consider implementing a lockdown in the capital, said Apisamai Srirangsan, the center’s spokeswoman. Infections are rising as people continue to socialize with families, friends and colleagues, she said.

With the contagious delta variant now spreading in Thailand, new clusters in factories and construction-worker camps have put a strain on medical facilities and staff, challenging the government’s efforts to contain an outbreak that began early April.

Thailand reported 3,644 new infections on Friday, with 1,142 of the cases found in Bangkok. A neighboring industrial province, Samut Sakhon, had the second-highest count with 295 cases. The tally took Thailand’s cumulative caseload since the pandemic began to 236,291.

Enough Covid-19 vaccination doses have so far been administered to cover about 6% of Thailand’s population, with the government seeking to boost inoculations as it aims to reopen borders by October. Any lockdown measures could undermine plans to reopen tourism hotspot Phuket to fully inoculated visitors from July. International travelers to the island province wouldn’t be subject to a two-week state mandated quarantine.

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