Thailand eases COVID19 restrictions, but only for people who have been vaccinated
Thailand will lift most coronavirus restrictions on shops and restaurants starting next month and allow gatherings of up to 25 people in Bangkok and other high-risk areas, the COVID-19 task force said Friday afternoon.
Easing restrictions and adjusting measures were necessary to safely revive the economy, the task force says, as the country faces its worst coronavirus outbreak and struggles to ramp up vaccinations, with so far only 1 in 10 people have been vaccinated.
From Sept. 1, shopping malls, salons, barbershops, foot massagers and sports fields in 29 high-risk provinces, including Bangkok, will be allowed to resume operations, while restaurants will be allowed to open for dinner, the task force said.
Authorities have asked business operators to ensure that service personnel are fully vaccinated and regularly tested with antigen kits and to require customers to show proof of vaccination and negative tests.
Thailand today reported 18,702 new cases and 273 new deaths, among about 1.14 million cases and 10,587 total deaths, on Friday, August 27, the vast majority since April.
The current battle is with the highly transmissible Delta variant of the virus, which saw record numbers of fatalities in August.
“We need to adapt the way we safely manage and live with the disease… by adjusting strategy and building confidence so that disease control measures align with safely reviving the economy,” the spokeswoman for the company said. task force, Apisamai Srirangsan, at a briefing this afternoon.
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