BANGKOK — All business enterprises, including convenience stores and roadside food stalls, in the capital must be closed at midnight starting tonight, the City Hall ordered Wednesday.
In the latest move by the City Hall to keep people off the streets in order to contain the coronavirus epidemic in Bangkok, governor Aswin Kwanmuang said the shutdown order applies to all stores from midnight to 5am.
However, Aswin said the City Hall will not impose a curfew on city residents, since the power to announce such measures lies in the hands of the government’s COVID-19 Administration Center, chaired by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha.
The City Hall and the metropolitan police will set up checkpoints across the capital to ensure compliance, the governor said. Today’s measure also includes all-day closure of all public and private parks.
According to the announcement, those who defy the order will face one year in prison and a 100,000 baht fine. They may also face prosecution for violating the emergency decree, the announcement added.
The commercial curfew is effective from tonight until further notice.
The City Hall had previously ordered restaurants, shopping malls, beauty salons, entertainment establishments, educational institutions, sport complexes to close until April 30.
Bangkok remains the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, with 850 of the total 1,771 confirmed cases found in the capital.
