Phuket orders 10-day closure for entertainment venues

This morning the government of Phuket has ordered the closure of all entertainment venues, bars, and nightclubs on the island of Phuket for 10 days. This shutdown will effectively cancel the upcoming Songkran festival for the popular holiday destination. Three entertainment venues have been closed for 14 days starting tomorrow aside from the blanket closures, as these venues were previously traced to Covid-19 infections. The 3 venues closed for the 14-day period are the popular clubs Illuzion, Cafe del Mar, and the Shelter Shop.

The closure comes just days before the Songkran festival holiday period, traditionally a booming time with big business from domestic travellers. The thousands of expected new customers being diverted will result in huge losses of income for the entertainment and tourism sector. Realizing that this closure will have a drastically negative effect on local businesses, the Phuket officials have invited owners of bars and entertainment venues to meet directly with them to discuss the difficult decision and how it was reached.

The governor of Phuket made this order at a meeting with the communicable disease committee of Phuket earlier this morning around 9 am. The closure order has not yet been officially announced and is planned to take effect starting tomorrow. As of now, it is unclear whether bars will be allowed to open and operate this evening.

Hua Hin, but similarly popular resort town, though less famous than Phuket, has also ordered a closure period of 4 days. The decision was made in meetings last night to close entertainment venues for 4 days. These shutdowns come in the wake of a surge in Covid-19 infections around Thailand due to exposure at entertainment venues. 40 Coronavirus infections were reported in Chon Buri today alone. The infections have come from bars in Bangkok, Pattaya, Si Racha, Phuket, Hua Hin and more locations and are threatening numerous entertainment venue closures in the coming days.

SOURCE: The Pattaya News