Pattaya continued aggressive coronavirus testing at the Tree Town Market, which city hall still refuses to shut down despite the law-bending bar area continuing to drive the city’s coronavirus outbreak.
City public-health workers tested 350 people on Jan. 12, with positive cases still occurring. On the first day of testing over the New Year’s period, 25% of those tested were found to be infected. That rate dropped to about 10% in the following days.
Chonburi on Friday reported 825 new coronavirus cases, 419 of which were found in Banglamung District, which includes Pattaya. That followed 467 people in the Pattaya area found positive on Thursday.
Of those, 27 were tied directly to bars and restaurant-bars in Pattaya, with clusters tied to Tree Town and bars in Wornnapa Beach of Muang District still spreading.
Despite the high number of cases tied to Tree Town, Pattaya City Hall and local police have yet to shut it down, and provided no reason why they won’t. It is known that a number of influential Pattaya residents operate or have investments in the restaurant-cum-bars there.