Bars and clubs can re-open soon, but with a list of 22 requirements

ThaigerTuesday, June 23, 2020Last Updated: Tuesday, June 23, 2020

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Bars and clubs can re-open soon, but with a list of 22 requirements

“Musicians and performers must wear face shields.”

Well, there’s some good news and there’s some bad news if you’re the owner of an entertainment venue in Thailand. You CAN re-open… soon. BUT, the CCSA has put together a list of 22 requirements you’ll have to meet when you re-open your doors.

Not surprisingly the owners and representatives are unhappy about the long list of encumbrances on venues who will re-open under the new phase 5 guidelines. The list of rules is being submitted to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration this Friday.

Of businesses left to re-open in Thailand, the entertainment industry includes pubs, karaoke outlets, massage parlours and other types of adult entertainment venues. Shuttered since March, the venues are eager to open in July.

Here’s some of the main restrictions, among the long list…

• Restrict the number of customers

• Check body temperature of patrons and provide hand sanitiser

• Groups of people sitting together – maximum 5. They will have to sit 1 metre away from each other.

• At least 2 metres between tables, or install barriers

• No singing or dancing (that includes your club team song after the 9th beer)

• Drinks in glasses only, not bottles

• Staff must wear face masks AND face shields

• No ‘gathering’, ‘shouting’, or ‘wandering’

• Musicians and performers must wear face shields (who wants to hear those silly lyrics anyway!?)

• No competitions or group activities, including pool and darts

• Ensure social distancing in smoking areas

• Ban ‘product presenters’ from sitting with guests (huh?!)

Last week the country’s musicians and entertainers pleaded with the the government to allow them to return to work. They told officials that they were in dire financial straits.

Operators say limiting customers to five in a group may keep them from coming and are complaining that the rules for entertainment venues are stricter than the ones imposed on eateries and filming crews.

But, keen to pry their doors open again, operators admit they will have no choice but to comply with the new rules. In the meantime they are urging the CCSA to reconsider the draconian list of restrictions and consider relaxing the rules, either before Phase 5 starts or a few weeks after.

There is no doubt the country’s battered entertainment industry will take time to recover. In towns around Thailand the locals will likely trickle back as more confidence is gained in social gatherings again. But for the tourist spots, many former businesses will simply go broke as the government delays opening borders for international tourists. Many will never re-open. Some 2 million people are employed in the country’s entertainment and nightlife business.

Meanwhile, Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam says the government will consider the lifting of the emergency decree by this Friday.

Mr Wissanu says the decision whether to lift or extend Thailand’s emergency decree will be made based “on the assessment of Covid-19 risks”.

“If the country does not face a second wave of infections, then the Communicable Disease Control Act is adequate to contain the virus.”

SOURCE: Bangkok Post