Reopening of bars and nightclubs pushed to mid-January 2022
It’s going to be at least two months until you’ll be able to legally drink a beer at a bar in Thailand… The long-awaited reopening of bars and nightlife venues has been pushed to January 15, 2022. The CCSA held a general meeting chaired by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha today and decided to push back the reopening date for entertainment venues. Alcohol sales at restaurants is now only allowed in areas classified as “blue zones” including Bangkok and Phuket.
Bars, pubs, nightclubs and other entertainment venues have been closed since April due to the rise of the latest and most severe wave of Covid-19 in Thailand. The first clusters were found in Bangkok’s Thong Lor nightlife district in late-March. Health officials continued report a trend of Covid-19 transmissions linked to entertainment venues, prompting government-ordered closures throughout Thailand.
Since the November 1 reopening, restaurants in the four provinces classified as “blue zones,” which includes Bangkok, Krabi, Phang Nga, and Phuket, have been allowed to served alcohol. In Phuket, which reopened under the pilot “Sandbox” scheme in July, alcohol sales at restaurants have been allowed since October. Regulations on the alcohol sales at “blue zone” restaurants, such as what hours booze can be served, vary by province.
On Koh Samui, which reopened in July under an island quarantine scheme, officials lifted the alcohol ban on October 1 for restaurants registered under the “Vaccine Green Zone” programme.
