The Government Wants To Postpone Nightclub Reopening

Anutin Charnvirakul, Minister of Public Health wants to postpone the reopening of entertainment venues and nightclubs after several businesses failed to apply proper disease control measures, resulting in severe infection outbreaks in some provinces.

Mr. Anutin said that it was obvious that the formation of several Covid-19 clusters was associated with meetings at restaurants and bars serving alcoholic beverages.

He said that their continuous failure to execute disease control measures recommended by public health officials has compelled the government to rethink its proposal to reopen entertainment facilities such as nightclubs.

The minister criticized “the lack of conscience” for putting the country in danger of a new wave of Covid-19 infections, stating that he has ordered the local infectious diseases commission to push legal action against businesses that breached public health guidelines.

“The Department of Disease Control or DDC will assess whether it is reasonable to reopen such businesses on January 15,” he said, adding that the decision will be made by the CCSA or Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration.

As of Tuesday, the Department of Medical Science reported a total of 2,062 Omicron cases, with notable clusters in Kalasin (231 cases), Roi Et (180 cases), and Chon Buri (70 cases).

DDC chief Opas Karnkawinpong, said that COVID infections had increased throughout the country. On Tuesday, Chon Buri reported 499 cases, followed by Bangkok 376 and Ubon Ratchathani 328.

“We anticipate an increase in Omicron cases during the next 1 to 2 months,” Dr. Opas told reports. He encouraged the public to work from home for a week and test regularly using Antigen Test Kits.

Source: Bangkok Post

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