The Thai prime minister has signed the order to cancel the wearing of mask in public. Starting June 24, muffling will be optional even in busy places although elderly people, the infirm and pregnant women are advised to continue doing so if in a crowded situation. However, individual businesses can still require mask wearing on their premises, if they so insist.
Pattaya’s mayor Poramese Ngampichet had earlier predicted that the unpopular rule would end on July 1, but the notice in the Royal Gazette takes immediate effect. The requirement to wear a mask in public had been widely disregarded in Pattaya for some weeks, especially in night time venues, and there had been no recent cases of enforcement by police or health authorities. Malls and supermarkets are expected to abandon temperature checks and signing-in procedures which, in any case, had become hit and miss in the last two months.
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