Thailand to ease nightlife lockdown, allow some entry to foreigners

THAILA D’S nightlife will restart with some restrictions this week, the kingdom announced Monday, part of a return to normalcy as it prepares to welcome business travellers and medical tourists after a ban on foreign entry.

So far Thailand has 3,169 cases and 58 deaths from the coronavirus -- a low toll considering the kingdom in mid-January became was the first country outside China to register a case.

But the country’s tourismreliant economy has been hit hard by the border closures, while a halt to its infamous nightlife has left the kingdom’s informal workers -- in bars, massage parlours, and karaoke lounges -- adrift.

Premier Prayut Chan-OCha said the “most at-risk businesses” will be allowed to reopen from Wednesday, as there has been no local transmission of the virus for more than a month.

Beginning July 1, bars, clubs and karaoke lounges can reopen, though they must adhere to a midnight closing time and have social distancing measures, said Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman for the Centre for COVDI-19 Situation Administration.