Bangkok extends lockdown on Covid-19 risky venues until May 17

In this Tuesday, May 4, 2021, file photo, a health worker administers a dose of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine to residents of the Klong Toey area, a neighborhood currently having a spike in coronavirus cases, in Bangkok. - AP

BANGKOK (The Nation/ANN): The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) on Friday (May 7) extended until May 17 lockdown measures on some businesses and public places that carry high risk of spreading Covid-19.

The move follows a recommendation by the provincial communicable disease committee.

The city had earlier imposed a lockdown from April 26 to May 9, or until the situation improves.

“As the number of new infections is still rising in the province, the committee decided to extend the lockdown until May 17, ” the BMA said.

According to the order, the following premises must remain closed: theatres, water and amusement parks, zoos, rinks for skating, rollerblading, etc, snooker clubs, bowling and arcade centres, internet cafes, swimming pools, fitness centres, exhibition centres, museums, libraries, nurseries (except in hospitals), elderly care homes (except where overnight admissions are allowed), boxing stadiums and schools, martial arts schools, tattoo parlours, dance studios, horse racing courses, amulet markets, health and beauty centres, spa and massage parlours, stadiums and public parks.

Meanwhile, department stores, shopping malls and community malls can be open from 11am to 9pm, but they must refrain from holding promotional activities. Restaurants can be open until 11pm but offering only take-home services.

As of Friday, Bangkok still topped the country’s list of most infected provinces with 869 confirmed patients, taking total infections in the province to 16,917 since the start of the third wave last month. - The Nation/Asia News Network