Alcohol until 11 pm at food venues in 8 Blue provinces from tomorrow

Put on your party boots; tomorrow it’s time to go out late for drinks on a Monday! The easing of the alcohol ban for 8 Blue Zone provinces goes into effect tomorrow with restaurants and similar venues allowed to sell drinks until 11 pm now. Bars, pubs, karaoke, nightclubs, and other nightlife and entertainment venues will not be legally allowed reopened in any part of Thailand for the time being.

Bangkok made the announcement yesterday, and now Chon Buri is prepared to follow suit and extend drinking hours in the province. Phuket will also be allowed to legally serve drinks later for its Sandbox tourists, as well as Krabi, Phang Nga, and Kanchanaburi. The Bangkok suburb provinces of Nonthaburi and Pathum Thani round out the list of the 8 Blue Zone provinces that are considered pilot tourism or Sandbox areas that allow drinking until 11 pm.

The new relaxed rules for serving alcohol are applied to many types of food service venues including restaurants, food halls, street vendors, eateries, hotel dining facilities, and other food and beverage industries. All types of businesses must meet either the Ministry of Tourism and Sports’ SHA+ certification or the Ministry of Public Health’s Thai Stop COVID 2 Plus standard as well as the government’s Covid Free Setting measures.

The restaurant loophole is still in full swing too, as any entertainment venues that are able to meet the required standards can open up a restaurant and serve alcohol, now until 11 pm. These makeshift “restaurants” must still meet the same certifications and requirements as all other food venues.

In Chon Buri, to account for so many converted entertainment venues, businesses must provide antigen test kits to any customer that can’t show a negative Covid-19 test taken less than 72 hours from patronising the business. Staff in establishments serving alcohol must be tested for Covid-19 daily. Any businesses caught by the provincial Communicable Disease Committee violating regulations will face a temporary closure.

SOURCE: The Pattaya News