COVID ease allows extra drinking hour
AS PART OF THE RELAXing of COVID-19 controls nationwide, restaurants will be able to serve alcohol until midnight from May 1, the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration announced last Friday (Apr 22).
Spokesman Taweesilp Visanuyothin announced alcohol consumption at eateries and similar establishments that met disease control standards would be moved from 11pm to midnight following a CCSA meeting chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
This would go hand in hand with the CCSA’s decision to redesignate COVID-19 control (orange) zones in 18 provinces as surveillance (yellow) zones from May 1.
The number of yellow zones would then rise from 47 provinces to 65 provinces.
CCSA also resolved to increase the number of tourism pilot (blue) zones from 10 provinces to 12 provinces, with Songkhla in the South and Rayong in the East, formerly orange zones, to be newly included.
The 10 other tourism pilot provinces are Bangkok, Krabi, Kanchanaburi, Chon Buri, Chiang Mai, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, PhangNga, Phetchaburi and Phuket. Other provinces will be yellow zones from May 1 onwards.
Yellow zones limit the number of participants in an activity at 1,000 while blue zones have no restrictions for business and activities.
However, entertainment venues such as pubs, bars and karaoke shops will still be barred from reopening unless they are modified to operate as eateries.
The CCSA also reduced home quarantine for COVID-19 cases and people in close contact with them from seven days to five days, followed by five days for self-health observation and distancing from others.