The authorities form Thailand's capital are planning to lift the coronavirus or COVID-19 curbs in the next few days or weeks for some businesses that are ranging from restaurants and hair salons to pet groomers, a city official stated on Tuesday with the decrease in the pace of new infections.
Many businesses in Bangkok have been shut down for more than a month, crippling the economy. The reopening date was not clear with details remaining to be worked out but will get announced on Wednesday, a civic administration spokesperson stated.
Thailand to relax restrictions in capital
"It will not be a return to normal like before," said the spokesman, Pongsakorn Kwanmuang, adding that markets, sporting grounds, public parks, medical facilities and golf courses are also among the services eligible to re-open first. "All activities in these places will be regulated," he said, adding that the announcement would set out strict social distancing measures and other rules to prevent a fresh virus outbreak.
On Tuesday, Thailand reported seven new infections and two more deaths for a tally of 2,938 cases and 54 deaths since the outbreak began in January, while 2,652 patients have recovered. The numbers fit a trend of fewer new cases, down from past weeks in which more than 100 were recorded each day. The government is considering how to relax curbs nationwide, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said, while urging people to keep up vigilance against the virus.
Since emerging in China late last year, the virus has spread worldwide, causing more than three million infections and over 210,000 deaths. To fight the virus, Thailand declared a state of emergency and curbs on movement between its provinces as well as nighttime curfew nationwide, along with a ban on incoming international passenger flights.
(With agency inputs)
