Hua Hin Forum

No jabs needed for dining in

People in dark-red zones will not need to be fully vaccinated and/or pass a Covid-19 test to dine in at eateries and restaurants in dark-red zones, according to the latest announcement in the Royal Gazette.

The announcement contradicted earlier reports which said restaurants wishing to reopen would be required to restrict dine-in services to fully vaccinated patrons and/or those who have passed a Covid test with an antigen test kit before entering.

The news was published in the Royal Gazette on Saturday, along with the easing of other Covid-19 curbs which were endorsed by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).

A source close to the matter said the CCSA will provide more detailed guidance on the issue later.

joelle wrote: ↑Tue Aug 31, 2021 1:29 pm At the rate cases are dropping by the the end of next month there will be zero cases !!

joelle wrote:At the rate cases are dropping by the the end of next month there will be zero cases !!

thecolonel wrote: ↑Tue Aug 31, 2021 1:34 pm

joelle wrote:At the rate cases are dropping by the the end of next month there will be zero cases !!

Are you suggesting that the figures are being 'massaged' Joelle, in order to line up with certain tourism target deadlines?!

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Lockdown ease raises doubts

Employees, shop owners and customers at Seacon Square shopping mall on Srinakarin Road in Prawet district are running hot and cold over the government's decision to ease business lockdown measures from Wednesday, allowing so-called "high-risk businesses" to reopen.

They say there are both negative and positive aspects to the decision.

The negative point is that a new wave of Covid-19 might break out, and the positive point is it offers opportunities for people to live a normal life and spend money to boost the economy.

"I don't think this reopening will last long," she said. "A new cluster may happen again when they allow crowds of people into the mall."

A housewife, 54, was resting after grocery shopping, waiting to meet her sister well away from the entrance.

"I am afraid to walk here. As you can see, people walk in and out all the time. People get really close together.

"I try my best to stay away from the crowd as I could get the virus from them," she said.

She said her husband and her children used to regularly go shopping at this mall but during these times they dared not leave home.

"I don't think this reopening will last long. People are still getting infected and people are buzzing here, which is a good place for the virus to spread and mutate,'' she said.

Warnings as Thailand, Indonesia ease Covid-19 curbs

Although case numbers are still rising fast in most of the region, Indonesia and Thailand, which have its largest economies, have started to lift curbs on dine-in restaurants and shopping malls to ease the economic pain of their lockdowns.

Indonesia reported 10,534 new cases on Tuesday, five times fewer than its peak in mid-July, while Thailand reported 14,802 new cases on Wednesday, down 37% from its mid-August peak.

However, experts said relaxations carried dangers with a low level of vaccination and a shortage of testing, with rates of positive tests often above the 5% recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Indonesia has recently had a positive test rate of 12% and Thailand 34%.

The two countries both have first vaccination rates at around 30% with Indonesia having fully vaccinated 17% and Thailand 11%. Their capitals, Jakarta and Bangkok, have much higher levels of vaccination.

The economic benefits of easing lockdowns were understandable, said Dale Fisher, a senior infectious disease expert at the National University Hospital in Singapore, but he stressed that they also must vaccinate their citizens faster.

"As you ease off the lockdowns, how much sort of punishment can you take before you have to bring a lockdown back in and be and be stronger? The answer's in the vaccine," he said.