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Bangkok Lifts Alcohol Sale Ban on Restaurants Ahead of Reopening

Bangkok Lifts Alcohol Sale Ban on Restaurants Ahead of Reopening

Thailand’s capital will lift a ban on sale of alcohol at restaurants from Monday as authorities loosen more Covid curbs to draw tourists under a reopening plan that waives quarantine for vaccinated visitors. 

Restaurants certified by the tourism authorities can serve alcohol until 9 p.m. but bars will remain closed, the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority said in a statement Saturday. The move to lift the six-month long ban follows a steady decline in new cases that prompted the nation’s main virus task force on Friday to declassify Bangkok as a high-risk Covid zone. 

Thailand is set to allow vaccinated visitors from 46 jurisdictions to enter the country without a mandatory quarantine from Nov. 1 as it relaxes travel curbs to restart its struggling tourism industry. Inoculated visitors from countries not on the list can travel to Bangkok and 16 other regions, but they will be confined to their initial destination for the first seven days before being allowed to travel elsewhere.

New Covid cases have declined in recent weeks to between 7,000 to 9,000 a day from a peak of almost 25,000 in August, official data show.

While gyms and fitness centers are allowed to operate under strict Covid protocols in Bangkok, cinemas can seat up to 75% of their capacity, the city administration said. Spas and massage parlors can serve clients with appointments, and visitors and participants of sports events at stadiums must be fully vaccinated or have negative Covid test results, it said.    

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.