Image: Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin, file photo

 

Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) is considering relaxing some of the restrictions in place in so-called ‘dark red zone’ provinces.

 

Up for consideration is allowing restaurants in Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan, Chon Buri and Chiang Mai to re-open to dine in customers. 

 

Restaurants would be allowed to open to 25% of capacity until 9pm, serving takeaway until 11pm.

 

Sale of alcoholic beverages will still be banned. 

 

Schools and educational institutions are also understood to be up for consideration for re-opening.

 

CCSA spokesman Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin said full details regarding the possible relaxation of restrictions will be announced on Saturday (15 May).

 

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12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Restaurants would be allowed to open to 25% of capacity until 9pm, serving takeaway until 11pm.

expect men in gray with the measuring tape

Another farce. Will it be worth while for restaurants to open with 25% capacity and no alcohol sales?

Wow, while in Singapore, 24 community cases yesterday and all dine in at fnb outlets will be banned for a month. 

2 hours ago, Henryford said:

Another farce. Will it be worth while for restaurants to open with 25% capacity and no alcohol sales?

I would like to to know the correlation between covid and alcohol sales

I don’t think this will take off in a big way. I know restaurants that simply closed because of the take away restriction only here in Pattaya. The question will be, “ is it worth opening up at a 25% capacity, with no alcohol sales?” . When you consider the utilities, waiting/serving staff and probably demand for full rents from the landlords, I would say not. Just my view though.

Well considering most of us ex-pats are chomping at the bit to go out to eat, I think they will fill that 25% no problem... Remember folks to tip well! ????

Big advocate of restaurants opening up with restrictions...many of the restaurants in CM are noodle shop design and only have 3-5 customers at any one time during normal times...

 

it’s the bigger restaurants with high volume or in shopping malls will need to comply with social distancing to minimize infection transmission

 

let the village restaurants or away from population centers open up with social distancing requirements 

 

throw them a bone...

 

 

But the swimming pools, open air saunas are still closed. 

Don't they understand how stupid they're making themselves look?

The daily new case load (excluding prisons) is roughly the same as it was when they announced the ban on eating indoors in restaurants. So either their original ban was excessive and unnecessary, and all the restaurants should immediately take the CCSA to court for loss of earnings, or else the ban was measured and necessary, but they are now willing to take excessive risks with the public health. So which is it, CCSA, because you can't have it both ways.

Do they really know how to calculate  Building occupants compacity, used to touch on it in the Fire Service, size of floor space and exits and number of etc. and work out the formula, This lot will just count tables and chairs I suspect.. ????

We use alcohol on our hands to kill covid. Why can't we drink alcohol?

1 hour ago, farangroby said:

I would like to to know the correlation between covid and alcohol sales

Why , Domestic Violence Increases  , you don’t have to be a doctor to figure it out 

I would imagine any restaurants that cant serve alcohol it's not worth opening  

Nothing has changed as far as Covid spreading throughout the land, no progress has been made since vaccine availability remains so low. This is an arbitrary time period to wait and rules to prevent it's spread. It's fine if they want to open up to balance economic needs with health ones but any belief that this can now be done due to the situation being under control is a fake one.

1 hour ago, farangroby said:

I would like to to know the correlation between covid and alcohol sales

Nobody has ever defined that intelligibly. I can understand crowded bars, and clubs, where you have to shout to be heard, and in the process you release alot of spittle. But a restaurant? Why? It only appears to be an additional hardship for hundreds of thousands who are only trying to make a living, and patrons who are only trying to let off a little steam and enjoy some much needed recreation. If anything, allowing drinking in restaurants brings down the national crime rates!

 

So, where is the science? If anything the shutdown of restaurants likely causes more harm, than good. Both psychologically for the population, and financially for the community and the families involved in running the restaurant.

 

Witnesses called by the Restaurant Association of Maryland argued that the city’s dining ban and lockdown measures like it were causing irreparable economic and psychological harm. They added that the restaurant shutdown, which went into effect in December, had not reduced the number of COVID-19 cases in Baltimore.

 

https://www.baltimoresun.com/food-drink/bs-fo-restaurant-shutdown-debate-20210114-xgaijws76ngb5kmviijh23saoi-story.html

 

Despite orders to suspend outdoor dining in Los Angeles County amid an increase in coronavirus cases, Eyewitness News has found restaurants have been linked to less than 4% of coronavirus outbreaks in non-residential settings, according to data from L.A. County. "I feel like the restaurant industry was basically used as a pawn," Barger said, "as there is no logic and that is my frustration, you know what I hear is the inconsistencies that continue to take place not only in the county but in the state as well, have put people in a situation where there's a lack of trust in the people making these decisions because they seem very arbitrary and very random."

 

https://abc7.com/covid-19-data-restaurants-outdoor-dining/8235279/

 

One of the issues I have personally, with regard to Covid related info, is that nearly all of it is driven by some sort of agenda, politics, fear, paranoia, and bad information. It is very hard to get accurate info without some sort of slanted objective. 
 

 

A smart restaurateur would offer take out - "buy 2 get one free" - Farang food specials(Fish and chips, hamburgers, roast beef dinners...) Sexy gals would bring it out to them. I am sure that this would enable him to cover costs. If it caught on, then he may even make some coin.

20 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Nobody has ever defined that intelligibly. I can understand crowded bars, and clubs, where you have to shout to be heard, and in the process you release alot of spittle. But a restaurant? Why? It only appears to be an additional hardship for hundreds of thousands who are only trying to make a living, and patrons who are only trying to let off a little steam and enjoy some much needed recreation. If anything, allowing drinking in restaurants brings down the national crime rates!

 

So, where is the science? If anything the shutdown of restaurants likely causes more harm, than good. Both psychologically for the population, and financially for the community and the families involved in running the restaurant.

 

Witnesses called by the Restaurant Association of Maryland argued that the city’s dining ban and lockdown measures like it were causing irreparable economic and psychological harm. They added that the restaurant shutdown, which went into effect in December, had not reduced the number of COVID-19 cases in Baltimore.

 

https://www.baltimoresun.com/food-drink/bs-fo-restaurant-shutdown-debate-20210114-xgaijws76ngb5kmviijh23saoi-story.html

 

Despite orders to suspend outdoor dining in Los Angeles County amid an increase in coronavirus cases, Eyewitness News has found restaurants have been linked to less than 4% of coronavirus outbreaks in non-residential settings, according to data from L.A. County. "I feel like the restaurant industry was basically used as a pawn," Barger said, "as there is no logic and that is my frustration, you know what I hear is the inconsistencies that continue to take place not only in the county but in the state as well, have put people in a situation where there's a lack of trust in the people making these decisions because they seem very arbitrary and very random."

 

https://abc7.com/covid-19-data-restaurants-outdoor-dining/8235279/

 

One of the issues I have personally, with regard to Covid related info, is that nearly all of it is driven by some sort of agenda, politics, fear, paranoia, and bad information. It is very hard to get accurate info without some sort of slanted objective. 
 

 

Its really simple but lovers of alcohol will never accept it. Problem is its not 1 glas of wine people will use it to booze up and forget about rules in restaurants and cause trouble. Restaurants will use it to avoid the booze ban of bars policing something like this is really hard.

 

Irrepable psychological harm ???? must be a lot of alcoholics then. 

 

Sure some people would oblige by the ban but laws are made to cope with the worst of people not the ones that follow rules. 

     I would certainly like to see restaurants be allowed to open in Pattaya.  Some would likely choose to stay closed with the restrictions but I know a number of restaurants that were doing ok before the shutdown and they would re-open, bringing back employees to work.  I'm ready to eat out again at a restaurant.  

11 minutes ago, rcuthbert said:

A smart restaurateur would offer take out - "buy 2 get one free" - Farang food specials(Fish and chips, hamburgers, roast beef dinners...) Sexy gals would bring it out to them. I am sure that this would enable him to cover costs. If it caught on, then he may even make some coin.

You do realize that tourism is almost dead ant restaurants live on selling to Thais. Plus if you look at all the posts on Thaivisa its more often then not about the cheapest..... bla bla. So I doubt foreigners are a good source of income now given how few there are and how they have to economize too. Deals for Thais would attracts more people. 

 

Sorry that it deflates your self importance or the importance of expats. 

2 hours ago, Gabor said:

But the swimming pools, open air saunas are still closed. 

Open air sauna's ?? Just go walk outside for half an hour . And if you think that's not hot enough , wear a sweater and a  jacket while doing so ????

1 hour ago, Expat Tom said:

We use alcohol on our hands to kill covid. Why can't we drink alcohol?

Ok, you can drink the one you use on your hands .

2 hours ago, Expat Tom said:

We use alcohol on our hands to kill covid. Why can't we drink alcohol?

because you’d look stupid with your head upside down sucking on the spout ???? 

Reopening?

 

The numbers continue to Escalate..... and we should all start gathering in mass for dinner? 

 

I'll take a pass, and as our PM says: "Just stay home".

6 hours ago, Henryford said:

Another farce. Will it be worth while for restaurants to open with 25% capacity and no alcohol sales?

@Henryford there is quite a lot of people who eat and dont have to have alcohol with it, were not all alcoholics 

 

Schools and educational institutions are also understood to be up for consideration for re-opening??? i thought it had already been decided that schools are opening on june 1st 

2 hours ago, robblok said:

You do realize that tourism is almost dead ant restaurants live on selling to Thais. Plus if you look at all the posts on Thaivisa its more often then not about the cheapest..... bla bla. So I doubt foreigners are a good source of income now given how few there are and how they have to economize too. Deals for Thais would attracts more people. 

 

Sorry that it deflates your self importance or the importance of expats. 

Tourists that are trying to work remotely  to survive  and who have to economise to stay here are few and the expats who are retired don't  have a problem with the economy.  Our pensions come every month and the baht has been going down.  Plus if American we have been given Covid suppliment checks on top of that so Covid has not negatively affected our incomes at all.

4 hours ago, farangroby said:

I would like to to know the correlation between covid and alcohol sales

I think they are working on the assumption : people do silly things when drinking alcohol outside. IE Bars/restaurants. You can still buy beer and drink it at home, not in the street. I've just stocked up for the football tonight.

5 hours ago, farangroby said:

I would like to to know the correlation between covid and alcohol sales

Nightlife and daytime bar life usually results in people making bad decisions and being in close proximity.

 

When bars are closed for drinking and the alcoholics drink at home they are more prone to domestic violence. (Possibly why they go to the bar in the first place.)

 

This doesn’t apply to everyone of course but the bad apples cause everyone else to get restricted. 

2 hours ago, newnative said:

     I would certainly like to see restaurants be allowed to open in Pattaya.  Some would likely choose to stay closed with the restrictions but I know a number of restaurants that were doing ok before the shutdown and they would re-open, bringing back employees to work.  I'm ready to eat out again at a restaurant.  

Yes I think these home  deliveries are cutting corners on quality, they were a lot tastier before on previous lockdowns for  deliveries