Pattaya lockdown - Part 2 - beginning Tuesday, April 14

[Gaybutton]

Pattaya City begins “dry run” of city closure restrictions tomorrow, full closure Thursday

By Adam Judd

Tuesday, 14 April 2020

As we have been reporting on throughout the week Pattaya City will still be closing down the core area of Pattaya and implementing restrictions on entry starting with a “dry run” tomorrow afternoon and expected to start the actual closure on Thursday after 2:00 PM which will last three weeks or until the situation improves.

The dry run will begin tomorrow, Wednesday, April 15th at 3:00 PM and end around 6:00 PM. This will be followed by a meeting at 7:00 PM at City Hall to go over any potential problems and build solutions. This is expected to be followed by the implementation of the closure in full the following day, Thursday, April 16th, at or around 2:00 PM.

The purpose of the closure of the city is that the Ministry of Public Health and the Chonburi Department of Disease Control has identified Pattaya as a “Red Zone”, or a high risk area likely to have infections of the Covid-19 Coronavirus. The Red Zone is essentially Central Pattaya, Naklua and Jomtien. Roughly one week ago various hotel associations of Pattaya gathered information on the total number of tourists, domestic and foreign, still in the city and discovered about 2,800 people remained. This is considered a “high risk” group as many recently arrived and will need further random screening and testing to determine overall risk.

The city has already begun proactive testing at the Grand Bella hotel in Pattaya, aiming to screen two hundred people a day who volunteer and are chosen from high risk groups. So far, none of those screened have tested positive as of press time.

Government officials believe that by restricting access to Pattaya the task of identifying and contact tracing those in high risk groups will become easier overall, as well as limiting potential exposure to the greater public.

As discussed in our previous article, Pattaya will have 8 checkpoints in total.

To pass the checkpoints and enter Pattaya City proper a Thai resident must have their Thai ID Card. It is suggested that this be blown up to an A-4 Size to make the process easier for both the resident and the officials, if possible.

A foreigner must have their original passport and any other documents that they deem relevant.

If a person is renting an apartment or house in Pattaya and needs entry they must have a copy of the ID card of their landlord, as well as a telephone number to reach them. This includes foreigners. They should also have a letter from the landlord confirming that the person named is a tenant.

Only those with essential business will be allowed to enter the city. If one is working they must fill out the following form in English and have a copy of their work permit available as well. Their employer should also be involved in this process. For those with a medical appointment, a confirmation of the appointment is enough. An English link is here for the work related entry certificate:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L66Ahb ... e-M_tMkoKY

There will be several lanes at each checkpoint, one designed for fast access for those with approved paperwork, one for delivery drivers, specifically food delivery motorbike drivers, one for those who only wish to continue down the highway and not enter Pattaya proper and one for detailed examination for those who wish to enter the city.

It is still expected that there may be traffic delays and residents are urged that unless your trip is critically essential to avoid entering Pattaya City during the period of closure and stay home.

This information is subject to change, as it is still being fine tuned by the city, especially after tomorrow afternoon’s test run.

Story, photos, and map: https://thepattayanews.com/2020/04/14/p ... -thursday/

[Undaunted]

[Jun]

Assuming the figures are truthful & the lockdown is effective, Thailand would probably have hardly any domestic transmission by then.
So I guess domestic activity could carry on as normal.

On the other hand, I think it will be some time before Thailand can get back to mass tourism. So the Pattaya economy will still take quite a hit.

[Gaybutton]

I guess domestic activity could carry on as normal.

When businesses can return to normal, whether in May or later, that doesn't mean everything will be normal. Certainly not immediately. We'll have to see how many businesses survived. How many businesses will be able to rehire their laid off employees? How many of those employees are even still in Pattaya? How long will it take before customer numbers are enough for businesses to at least break even? And since most employees in Thailand are paid once a month, at the end of the month, how many who wish to work in Pattaya will still have enough money to rent a room? Those rooms plus security have to be paid up front and people do have to eat for a month while waiting for their first paycheck.

As for the bars, how many boys will be there? How many bars will still be there? How many customers will there be? Pattaya may reopen for business, but that doesn't mean the entire country is going to reopen at that time. Even when the entire country does reopen, how soon will sufficient tourist numbers start returning to Thailand? How long before Thailand allows flight arrivals? How long before the airlines start flying to Thailand again? How many foreigners even still have enough money to afford a trip to Thailand? Thailand isn't exactly the world's only country with serious problems due to the virus.

Answers to those questions, plus many more questions, remain to be seen.

A few years ago a catch phrase entered the language - "new normal". We can't be certain what the "new normal" will be, but it seems obvious it won't be the same as the "old normal". In many ways, maybe that's good. I, for one, can live without the countless Chinese tour buses. Maybe the Pattaya powers-that-be will finally figure out what attracts tourists to Pattaya and will let it happen, as it used to be years ago when the bars were thriving.

If they understand nothing else, I hope they'll understand that trying to make Pattaya a "family oriented" tourist destination - well, folks, guess what. That ain't it . . .

[Gaybutton]

The governor of the Chonburi province, Pattaya's province, has relaxed some of the rules. One that may particularly be helpful is:

Electronic stores, like computers and electronic devices as well as kitchen appliance stores may reopen. These areas in department stores like Big C may reopen.

I take that to mean Tuk Com can reopen as well. Of course with the lockdown restrictions, some of us will have problems just trying to get to some of these places.

For the full article, see: https://thepattayanews.com/2020/04/14/c ... of-future/

[Dodger]

I take that to mean Tuk Com can reopen as well. Of course with the lockdown restrictions, some of us will have problems just trying to get to some of these places.

My guess is that the lockdown restrictions will be lifted shortly after the businesses start to re-open.

NOW..., back a few weeks ago when I '"guessed "that the wheels would start turning again in Pattaya in the May-June timeframe you told me I had to be dreaming. So, I guess it's possible that I'm just dreaming about this as well...

[2lz2p]

Online ordering & delivery is still available and it appears from lock down articles, deliveries can still be made. I recently ordered a new smart TV from Powerbuy - they delivered within 3 days and set it up. My older smart TV was moved upstairs for bf to use and gave his regular TV to a relative of his that lives here in Pattaya. Right now, Powerbuy has some very good deals IMO on their electronics. Of course if the store reopens, one can shop online and order what they want to be picked up at a Powerbuy store.

[Gaybutton]

when I '"guessed "that the wheels would start turning again in Pattaya in the May-June timeframe you told me I had to be dreaming.

I still think you're dreaming. Why? My opinion about that is in my post above - https://www.gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic ... 07#p100904

Of course I hope you're right and I'm wrong.

[Gaybutton]

Pattaya mayor poised to impose stricter lockdown

15 Apr 2020

Pattaya will enforce a ramped-up coronavirus lockdown tomorrow with more screening checkpoints being set up in this resort city in Chon Buri.

Pattaya mayor Sonthaya Khunpluem said the number of checkpoints has been increased from five to eight along Sukhumvit Road leading to the city to screen vehicles and people entering.

Non-residents or people not working in Pattaya will be barred entry to the city until the situation returns to normal.

Most of those infected in Pattaya are foreigners and those who work closely with foreigners, Mr Sonthaya said.

People entering the town will be screened at the Sukhumvit checkpoints: in front of Maryvit School; Mini Siam; North Pattaya intersection; Central Pattaya intersection; South Pattaya intersection; Thep Prasit intersection; Wat Bunkanchanaram intersection; and the intersection near the public prosecutors' office.

The checkpoints have been spread across the town in order to prevent traffic congestion caused by motorists entering Pattaya via Sukhumvit Road.

Each checkpoint will be staffed by 27 officials and screening will start from 6am until 10pm daily until the situation improves, Mr Sonthaya said.

People who are not residents but have to work in Pattaya can obtain passes permitting them to enter and leave the city at the Pattaya provincial hall or apply for one at all 7-11 stores in the city, or download one at https://www.pattaya.go.th/permission-certificate/.

People who hold house registrations in Banglamung district must also show their ID cards, along with the passes when going through the checkpoints, while those who live outside the Banglamung area but have to travel to work in Pattaya must also have letters signed by their employers.

The latter must also show letters signed by their landlords, community leaders, or community committee members.

Lorry drivers delivering goods in Pattaya must show letters as well as invoices from their companies, and those who have appointments with doctors must have an appointment letter from a doctor, Mr Sonthaya said.

A local source also said that the Pattaya communicable disease control committee has also suggested setting up a field hospital at the Grand Bella Hotel in central Pattaya as a quarantine facility.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... r-lockdown

[Gaybutton]

Chonburi Government plans to reopen ALL businesses on May 1 as long as the COVID19 situation continues to improve

By Adam Judd

Wednesday, 15 April 2020

As we first mentioned last night a new order was issued from the Chonburi Governor that addressed consolidating all previous orders to end as of April 30, along with reopening electronic and appliance stores immediately.

This statement led to a lot of questions from people on social media if this truly meant businesses could start to reopen on May 1.

As confirmed by a statement from Chonburi PR this morning, that is exactly what the order means. Businesses will reopen as of May 1st, 2020, if the situation does not worsen.

They stated that if the situation with Covid-19 continues to improve and does not worsen the current plan is to reopen businesses and get the tens of thousands…an estimated 80 to 90 percent of the city…back to work.

This comes as lines at local food charities stretch into the hundreds, even over a thousand at some and the homeless problem is visibly increasing in the area.

The Pattaya News recently conducted a poll in which 73 percent, an overwhelming majority, supported reopening businesses and getting people an income once more.

The Pattaya News notes it will likely be months until international travel returns, however, opening on at least a local scale is a first step to take to get many people back on their feet.

This order, of course, is subject to change based on the overall emergency decree in place and the overall Covid-19 situation in Thailand, however other provinces like Udon and Phuket have also stated in the past 24 hours they are also looking at May first as a reopening date.

https://thepattayanews.com/2020/04/15/c ... o-improve/