June 1 is the long-expected date when all registered entertainment palaces can open, at any rate until closing time at midnight. Even soapy massages are back on the agenda, although Pattaya venues don’t appear to offer this particular leisure pursuit. Yet the current emphasis is on what you mustn’t do rather than on the laying out of the welcome mat.
Notices have appeared in north Pattaya reminding everyone that alcohol must not be consumed on the beach. The signs, which do not carry an official logo, are apparently the initiative of deckchair concessionaires who say they have had trouble with drunken sun worshippers in the past. Drinking beer, wine or spirits in public areas has long been an offence under national and local laws in Thailand. However, the signs are causing comment as there are no similar ones in south Pattaya or on Jomtien beach.
In a separate development, the Chonburi provincial governor has announced the latest health measures to accompany the reopening of pubs and nightclubs which have not hitherto been operating as “restaurants”. The venues must ensure that staff are fully vaccinated and monitored and always wear a face mask when indulging in conversations with customers, or indeed any close encounters of the third kind.
Customers must show evidence of vaccination, plus a booster, although the requirement to ATK-test all entrants has been dropped from the provincial order. All venues must already have received approval to operate as a restaurant, or must apply now for certification under the Thai Stop Covid2 Plus program of the health ministry. Safety assessments are the responsibility of the district health authorities which can issue certificates based on self-assessment forms filled in by the venue operators.
How the bureaucratic detail will be enforced remains to be seen. Historically, police have usually restricted their visits and raids to closing-time issues. Covid-related matters have been left to officers of the health authority or the Department of Provincial Administration, both civilian bodies. In the past, supervision has been more obvious in the early days of new regulations. Much will depend on whether Covid resumes the offensive in tourist-dependent areas.
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