The outside world can now enter Pattaya again after the city removed its access-control checkpoints erected to keep out the coronavirus.
Banglamung District Chief Amnart Charoensri and Pattaya Mayor Sonthaya Kunplome thanked workers at all eight checkpoints before shutting them down May 4.
The checkpoints were established April 16 amid a flare-up in the number of reported Covid-19 infections that landed Pattaya on the list of “red zones” for the virus in the country. About 1,600 officers, health workers and volunteers rotated duties on the eight checkpoints over the 18 days.
Workers checked the identifications of anyone trying to access the western side of Sukhumvit Road, administered temperature scans and inquired what the travelers’ business was in the city. Anyone without a good reason to be there was turned away.
There’s no evidence the checkpoints actually found anyone with the virus, however. A few people with fevers were sent to hospitals for Covid-19 tests, but all turned out negative.
The checkpoints were supposed to last three weeks but were ended early as Pattaya’s coronavirus cases ended almost as fast as they began, returning the city to “white zone” status. (PCPR)
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