There is a high chance that the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) will relax the mask mandate soon in Bangkok and Phuket, chief of the CCSA operation centre, Supoj Malaniyom, said.

Supoj said on Monday that the CCSA was inclined to ease the mandatory mask policy, but Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had urged caution in taking the decision so that it doesn’t backfire and cause damage.

He said that related organisations, including the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), are meeting every week to present problems and thoughts while following the government’s policy to ease regulations with safety.

Meanwhile, the CCSA is considering allowing pubs and bars to be open until 2am. It will evaluate the situation every 10 days from June 1, including the number of new Covid-19 cases, people who were affected by the opening of entertainment places, entertainment venues that violate laws, and cooperation from citizens and operators.

Supoj said that the CCSA will consider and evaluate all factors to ease restrictions, such as allowing more entertainment venues to open with prevention measures.

Based on the current situation, he said it was likely that the mask mandate would be eased if people and entertainment venues followed prevention measures. However, it is worrying that the vaccination percentage in some areas was low, whereas it was high in Bangkok.

The CCSA will consider how to ease the mask mandate to ensure utmost safety, he said.

Supoj said that it is more urgent for people in every field to be able to work normally than to ease the mask mandate, but the CCSA would consider these two factors at the same time.

Source: The Nation