BANGKOK Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said today (June 5) while the relaxation of the face mask mandate is mainly for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) to consider the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will voice its opinion that people should start removing them in open spaces, Naewna newspaper said.
Supporting this relaxation is the decrease in the daily Covid count and the economy having started to bounce back, he added.
While such a relaxation would have to be in accordance with medical view to ensure confidence, he pointed out that as the situation had improved people were now ready to do so.
This issue is to be officially raised for discussion with CCSA.
Chadchart also mentioned that entrepreneurs would be ready to cooperate if there was a clear policy on extending the opening hours of pubs, bars and parks.
Doing so would reduce the crowds that build up during the shorter opening hours now allowed.
“When restaurants were banned from serving alcohol during the (height of) coronavirus, we all saw that people set up roadside circles and these were not supervised. So controlled opening is better than letting them gather on their own unsupervised by law. It’s better to let the light shine,” he said.
Asked whether the opening of entertainment venues till 2 a.m. would be considered by the Bangkok Communicable Disease Committee, Chadchart said he would first like to see the result of the current relaxation till midnight.
He also pointed out that opening hours had a direct impact on the economy because the night economy was big with merchants, taxi drivers and motorcyclists too linked to it.
Moreover since June 1 when these establishments started opening till midnight there had not been any problems, he added.
The Public Health Ministry said this morning that there were 3,236 Covid cases, with two being foreigners, and 28 deaths over the past 24 hours taking the cumulative confirmed total since Jan. 1 to 2,243,358 and since the start of the pandemic 4,456,793, Sanook.com said.
Today’s 28 fatalities raised the death toll to 30,171.
Another 5,011 patients were cured taking total recoveries since Jan. 1 to 2,235,875 while 32,253 are still undergoing treatment.
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Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt at the “Music in the Garden for Happiness and Hope” event at Wachira Benchathat Park or Suan Rot Fai yesterday. Photos: Naewna
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