BANGKOK — Starting Sunday, malls and several other public venues will be allowed open, and the curfew pushed an hour back to 11pm, the government announced Friday.
Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman of the Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration said Friday that starting Sunday, the curfew is pushed from a 10pm closure time to 11pm to 4am. He also said 7 new cases of coronavirus were found, all of them returnees from overseas.
Malls must close by 8pm, Taweesin said. Other venues like food courts, beauty clinics, computer shops and so on can reopen, as well as wholesale stores and fresh markets.
“People have been saying they have to go to the dentist. Now they can,” Taweesin said.
Also eligible to open are meeting venues, galleries, libraries, museums, and film and TV production, although only 50 people can be on set.
Sports venues can only allow non-contact team sports with fewer than 3 members per team, and there must be no audience members. Sports under this category include badminton, sepak takraw, yoga, squash, and rock climbing.
Within fitness centers, group exercises or using gym equipment such as stationary bikes and treadmills are prohibited; only free weights are allowed. At pools, visitors can swim for an hour and must keep in separate lanes, at least 7 feet wide each.
Movie theaters, game arcades, water parks, boxing venues, beauty clinics that operate on the face, and massage parlors will remain closed.
7 New Cases
Seven Thais, all of them returning from Pakistan, also tested positive for the coronavirus, the government said.
The new infections bring the total number of COVID-19 cases in Thailand as reported by the government to 3,025. Officials said 56 people have died due to the pandemic so far in Thailand.
The highest numbers of infected returnees are from Indonesia (65), followed by Pakistan (nine), and the UK and Kazakhstan (two each).
