Bars, nightclubs and restaurants will close on Saturday and the sale of alcohol will be banned in Bangkok under a series of measures adopted to contain the rise in coronavirus cases in Thailand.
While the kingdom was the first country to spot a case of infection outside of China in early 2020, it had until November been relatively spared from the pandemic with just over 4,000 cases and 60 deaths reported.
But the emergence of cases in Thailand’s largest seafood market last month has sparked a surge in cases of infections, detected in 53 of the kingdom’s 77 provinces. On Saturday, the number of contaminations had jumped to more than 7,300 cases.
In Bangkok, where more than 2,600 cases have been detected, municipal authorities reacted quickly and declared partial containment, which takes effect on Saturday.
Bars and nightclubs, places where boxing and cock fights take place, massage parlors, beauty salons and gyms are among the businesses affected by these restrictions.
The capital announced on Friday that public schools would be closed for two weeks.
“We don’t want to use extreme measures like containment or curfew, but we need a stronger remedy to curb this new wave,” said Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesperson for the Thai task force on the issue. Covid-19.
Restrictions and closures are expected across the country from Jan.4 until Feb.1, he said, to allow a two-day reprieve to allow traders to prepare for it.
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