Dos and don’ts
A family walking past a sign advising visitors to wear face masks at Lumpini Park in Bangkok to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Bars and pubs will reopen and some foreign travellers will be allowed to enter the country after five weeks with no new Covid-19 cases.
THAILAND will allow pubs and bars to reopen and plans to let in some foreign travellers after recording five weeks without any community transmission of the coronavirus, a government official said.
Pubs, bars and karaoke venues will be able to operate until midnight as long as they follow safety guidelines such as ensuring two metre-wide spaces between tables.
“Alcohol consumption could reduce discipline, so there will be close monitoring before customers enter venues,” Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, told a briefing yesterday.
Foreigners with work permits, residency and families in Thailand will also be able to enter the country, but will be subject to a 14-day quarantine.
Taweesin said foreigners seeking certain types of medical treatment such as some cosmetic surgery or fertility treatment could also be allowed into the country.
Business visitors from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, China and Hong Kong could also be exempted from a two-week quarantine period if they had certificates to show that they were free from Covid-19 and were tested upon arrival. The country’s aviation regulator has banned international flights since April.
“There is no proposal to change the flight suspension and travellers can return with repatriation flights and special flights,” Taweesin said.
The government’s coronavirus task force will recommend an extension of the emergency decree until the end of July for the Cabinet’s approval today.