CCSA to consider no mask, 2am closing hours next Friday
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) will meet next week to consider removing the facemask mandate in public places and allow entertainment venues to close at 2am, chief of the CCSA operation centre Supoj Malaniyom said on Thursday.
He said CCSA requires more time to evaluate the situation and has tasked the Department of Health with drawing up new rules for facemasks, especially marking out areas where people can go without wearing a mask.
“Our aim is to help people resume normality as soon as possible now that Covid-19 is close to becoming endemic,” he said. “The same goes for extending operating hours for entertainment venues, as we found the situation to be under control after allowing bars, pubs, karaoke joints and massage parlours to reopen since June 1.”
He added that the meeting on June 17 will also consider reopening more border checkpoints.
“Though the situation in Thailand is improving, CCSA is still concerned as the number of people getting booster shots is low. We, therefore, urge those who have not received a booster to get one as soon as possible to reduce the risk of hospitalisation and death,” Supoj said.
As of June 9, Thailand had administered 138.36 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, of which 56.81 million were first jabs covering 81.7 per cent of the population, 52.84 million second jabs covering 76 per cent of the population, and 28.69 million booster shots covering 41.3 per cent of the population.
On Friday, Thailand recorded 2,836 Covid-19 cases and 24 deaths, while 3,518 patients had recovered and were discharged from hospitals. Since January 1, 2022, Thailand has seen a total of 2,256,552 Covid-19 cases.