All businesses and activities suspended to control the spread of coronavirus disease will be allowed to resume on July 1 – including entertainment venues and “soapy massage” parlours.
Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman of the Centre for Covid19 Situation Administration, announced the decision on Wednesday.
He said regulations had been drafted for the fifth round of resumption of business and activities “when complete relaxation will occur”.
Businesses and activities to resume this time posed a high risk of disease transmission.
Their closure had an insignificant impact on the overall economy, but some groups of
people were in financial trouble because of it – including musicians and singers, he said.
Dr Taweesilp said schools will fully open. Restrictions on opening hours at malls will be lifted.
Pubs, bars and karaoke shops will reopen but must close at midnight. Groups of visitors will be capped at five people and will be prohibited from joining other groups.
Sales promotion activities will be banned.
Video game parlours will reopen, but will not be allowed to sell food or beverages.
Premises offering a bathsaunamassage service [aka soapy] will reopen on the condition that customers and staff wear face masks and observe social distancing – except during “bathing time”, Dr Taweesilp said.
“Customers will use the Thaichana app when they checkin, or manually register their visit in a book,” he said.
Staff would be regularly tested for Covid19 and other related diseases.
At all these premises, the government will continue to require body temperature screening, the use of face masks, social distancing, regular cleaning, onemonth of surveillance camera footage to facilitate disease investigation, and use of the Thaichana app for checkin and checkout.
At wet massage parlours, surveillance cameras would cover only public zones, Dr Taweesilp said.
