Over two thousand local residents showed up, lining up during National Thailand curfew hours for a scheduled charity food handout from a Norwegian Church on Soi Thrappraya 5 this morning.
The Sjomannskirken church is giving free food and goods every Thursday starting at 9:00 AM to the local community during the Covid-19 Coronavirus situation.
Some needy residents told The Pattaya News that they have lined up at 1:00 AM without worrying about the curfew time.
The residents told The Pattaya News that they are not afraid to be arrested but they are afraid of starving. Many said they had no source of income due to the closure of most of Pattaya’s businesses due to government rules and regulations to help stop the potential spread of the Covid-19 Coronavirus. The National curfew is currently scheduled from 11:00 PM to 4:00 AM daily.
The Pattaya City Police initially ordered the residents to go home as it was curfew time.
However, many refused and more arrived and lined up again. Physical distancing was difficult due to the sheer size of the crowds. Police made the decision to allow the crowd to wait for the charity food handout while attempting to enforce social distancing despite the large turnout.
The Sjomannskirken Church has been providing the charity for several weeks, with the crowds continuing to increase on a weekly basis, as The Pattaya News has noted before. Pattaya City has not had a single confirmed case of the Covid-19 Coronavirus in over forty days, however, since the majority of the city businesses are in the entertainment and hospitality industry most remain force closed by the Thai government.
Source: The Pattaya News
