New urgent measures have been announced to contain the local transmission of COVID-19 and stop the increasing number of patients in 10 target provinces, which are included in the “maximum and strict COVID-9 control zone.”
The announcement on Regulation No. 25, signed by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, was published in the Royal Gazette on 26 June 2021. It was issued under Section 9 of the Emergency Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations B.E. 2548 (2005) and will be in effect from 28 June 2021.
The 10 target provinces include Bangkok and five surrounding provinces of Nakhon Pathom, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan, and Samut Sakhon and four southern border provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, and Songkhla.
The urgent new measures are as follows:
1) Construction sites must close temporarily, at least for 30 days, and labor mobility is prohibited temporarily;
2) Restaurants and food shops must provide only take-home services;
3) Shopping centers, department stores, and community malls, may stay open until 21.00 hr; they must stop offering services at theaters, cinemas, and water parks, while food courts must not receive dine-in customers; the distance between waiting seats must also increase and the efficiency of air ventilation systems must be improved;
4) Gatherings with more than 20 participants are not allowed without permission from the authorities;
5) Hotels, exhibition centers, convention centers, and exhibition sites may remain open as usual, but they must refrain from organizing meetings, seminars, and catering;
6) Checkpoints must be set up to screen the travel of people into and out of the 10 target provinces.
Government Spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri explained that the stricter measures would be implemented temporarily in high-risk areas, in accordance with the current COVID-19 situation. Generally, people may travel and conduct their daily activities as usual, but they should avoid inter-provincial travel during this time.
The announcement of the regulation is not meant as a lockdown, he said.
Source: The Government Public Relations Department