BANGKOK, April 24 (Reuters) - Thailand reported 2,839 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday (Apr 24), a record number of new cases in the country's third wave of infection, bringing total infections to 53,022 cases.

The Southeast Asian nation also reported eight more deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities to 129 since the pandemic started last year.

Thailand is looking to buy between 5 million and 10 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said earlier this week, as the government seeks to shore up supplies while battling its fastest-spreading outbreak so far.

He added that the targeted delivery period for the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccines was July to end-2021.

Authorities also assured the public that there were sufficient hospital beds for the rising number of COVID-19 patients, amid a third wave of infections that has reached all 77 of its provinces.