Thailand is set to ban sales of alcoholic beverages in restaurants and close schools and amusement parks for two weeks to stem a fresh outbreak of coronavirus, potentially jeopardizing its plans to reopen borders to foreign tourists.
The closure of bars, pubs, karaoke and massage parlors in areas including Bangkok, the epicenter of the latest outbreak, may be extended nationwide until the end of April, the National Committee on Communicable Diseases decided on Thursday. While Bangkok and 17 other provinces will be designated as maximum controlled areas because of the severity of the outbreak, 59 others will be designated as controlled areas, the panel said.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha will chair a meeting of the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration on Friday to consider the fresh curbs. The Southeast Asian nation had last week ordered the closure of entertainment venues in Bangkok and 40 other virus-hit provinces for at least two weeks to contain the third wave of infections that emerged from bars and pubs in the capital city.