Coronavirus: partial lockdown in Bangkok to tame second wave; vaccines will be free for Indians
- Bars, nightclubs, beauty salons and gyms in the Thai capital will be among a slew of businesses affected
- India is finalising plans to inoculate 270 million people who are considered priority, including the elderly, by July
Bangkok’s nightlife will go quiet as a ban on bars, nightclubs and restaurant alcohol sales goes into effect on Saturday, among a raft of restrictions aimed at curbing the kingdom’s rising coronavirus toll.
But an outbreak last month at a massive seafood market has spiralled into a resurgence, with infections now detected in 53 of the kingdom’s 73 provinces. By Saturday the caseload had jumped to over 7,300.
In Bangkok, where more than 2,600 active cases have been detected, city authorities acted swiftly and announced a partial lockdown to go into effect on Saturday.
Bars and nightclubs, boxing stadiums, cockfighting rings and massage parlours – as well as beauty salons and gyms – will be among a slew of businesses affected.
The capital also announced on Friday that public schools will be closed for two weeks, while more than a dozen virus checkpoints were set up Saturday across the city.