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Thailand reopens massage parlors as Singapore ends 'circuit breaker'
Southeast Asia relaxes restrictions, cautious about second coronavirus wave
BANGKOK -- Southeast Asian countries are continuing to reopen their economies after months of lockdown, while at the same time bracing for a second wave of coronavirus infections.
The Thai government moved into the third, of four, phase of its lockdown relaxation on Monday. Theaters and cinemas are now open for audiences of under 200 each. Massage salons can provide two hours of service at a time. Football pitches, basketball and volleyball courts, and boxing gyms will open for exercise and training only. Zoos will also open their doors again.
Some hygiene requirements were dropped for businesses that had resumed operations in the first two phases. For example, plastic partitions to keep diners apart will no longer be required in restaurations but tables must be set at least one meter apart. Hairdressers, who were previously only allowed to shampoo, cut and style, can now provide full services such as dyeing and perming, while they must close every two hours for cleaning.
Shopping malls can now open an hour later to 9 p.m.
Thailand reported 40 new cases in the seven days to Monday, bringing total confirmed cases to 3,082. All of the new cases were imported and now under a 14-day state quarantine. The government was able to move into the third phase of relaxation as there had been no local transmissions in over a week.
On Monday morning, few massage salons in the Silom area in central Bangkok were ready to open and some were still deep-cleaning. Whether consumers will return immediately also remains to be seen.
"I would rather wait and see no rise in local transmissions before I get my hard knots in my shoulders relaxed," said a Japanese expat.
The kingdom's first easing phase, which included reopening restaurants and barbers, began on May 3, while the second on May 17 resumed operations of shopping malls. The government has set an assessment period for at least two weeks between phases to ensure that infection rates do not spike on account of reopening.
The fourth phase will include reopening of boxing arenas and nightclubs, the sources of infections clusters in March.
Southeast Asia relaxes restrictions, cautious about second coronavirus wave
BANGKOK -- Southeast Asian countries are continuing to reopen their economies after months of lockdown, while at the same time bracing for a second wave of coronavirus infections.
The Thai government moved into the third, of four, phase of its lockdown relaxation on Monday. Theaters and cinemas are now open for audiences of under 200 each. Massage salons can provide two hours of service at a time. Football pitches, basketball and volleyball courts, and boxing gyms will open for exercise and training only. Zoos will also open their doors again.
Some hygiene requirements were dropped for businesses that had resumed operations in the first two phases. For example, plastic partitions to keep diners apart will no longer be required in restaurations but tables must be set at least one meter apart. Hairdressers, who were previously only allowed to shampoo, cut and style, can now provide full services such as dyeing and perming, while they must close every two hours for cleaning.
Shopping malls can now open an hour later to 9 p.m.
Thailand reported 40 new cases in the seven days to Monday, bringing total confirmed cases to 3,082. All of the new cases were imported and now under a 14-day state quarantine. The government was able to move into the third phase of relaxation as there had been no local transmissions in over a week.
On Monday morning, few massage salons in the Silom area in central Bangkok were ready to open and some were still deep-cleaning. Whether consumers will return immediately also remains to be seen.
"I would rather wait and see no rise in local transmissions before I get my hard knots in my shoulders relaxed," said a Japanese expat.
The kingdom's first easing phase, which included reopening restaurants and barbers, began on May 3, while the second on May 17 resumed operations of shopping malls. The government has set an assessment period for at least two weeks between phases to ensure that infection rates do not spike on account of reopening.
The fourth phase will include reopening of boxing arenas and nightclubs, the sources of infections clusters in March.
