Bangkok was about to reopen some venues and businesses, the order was shut down by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. After businesses went weeks under a strict closure order, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration agreed to loosen restrictions and decided to reopen 5 types of venues and businesses, with conditions to prevent the spread of Covid-19, but the move was quickly suspended by the CCSA.
Venues and businesses such as museums, parks, spas, tattoo studios and wellness clinics were set to reopen today. The move to reopen the venues under limitations, was intended to relieve the financial burden on businesses that have been closed for weeks, according to the BMA.
Bangkok is the epicentre of the latest wave of coronavirus infections and remains a province under the highest control to combat the spread of Covid-19. More than 40,000 people in Bangkok have contracted the virus since April 1.
The first clusters in the latest wave were in the city’s trendy Thong Lor and Ekkamai nightlife districts. Health officials have said the outbreaks at Bangkok bars and nightclubs were caused by the mutated variant of the virus first found in the UK which is more contagious than the original strain. Currently, active Covid-19 clusters are at crowded areas in Bangkok such as construction camps, factories, markets, slum neighbourhoods and settlements.