The nighttime curfew and the temporary ban on serving alcohol in restaurants was lifted in Bangkok and several other provinces from November 1, 2021.
Thailand’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation (CCSA) has reduced the number of provinces on the dark red zone.
The nighttime curfew from 11:00 PM to 3:00 AM will only remain in the new “dark red” zone, with Chanthaburi, Tak, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala and Songkhla.
These provinces are still showing surges in COVID-19 cases.
The temporary ban on serving alcohol in restaurants has only been lifted in Bangkok, Krabi, Phang-Nga and Phuket. Pubs and bars remain closed.
The relaxation of lockdown laws coincided with re-opening of Thailand’s borders for foreign travel.
Thailand employed temporary alcohol sales bans several times since the pandemic began amidst heavy alcohol industry opposition. The bans were used to curb the spread of the virus and other negative interactions alcohol has with the pandemic.
Reducing alcohol availability during COVID-19 is a recommended solution by the World Health Organization to reduce the lethal interaction between alcohol and the pandemic.
This lethal interaction between alcohol and the COVID-19 pandemic was revealed in a groundbreaking report.
- Alcohol increases the health and societal problems arising from the pandemic. For example, alcohol weakens the immune system and makes people more susceptible to infections. And alcohol-centric social contexts have been COVID-19 super spreader events.
- Alcohol increases the burden on healthcare and emergency services which are already stretched due to the COVID-19.
- The alcohol industry exploits the pandemic to change alcohol laws to their private benefit.