Joining the inspection were officers from the Patong Police and Patong Municipality, including Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup.
V/Gov Pichet noted that the venues inspected were complying with at least the basic COVID-19 protection measures, including checking body temperatures of those entering the venues, ensuring patrons were were face masks and registering their attendance through the Thai Chana web platform, and that alcohol-based hand sanitiser was available for people to cleanse their hands.
“All visitors must keep one-metre distance between each other. If any venue does not enforce or ignores the disease-control measures, they will be ordered to close,” said V/Gov Pichet.
One venue owner told The Phuket News that most of the venue owners along the usually busy road did not expect a huge number of visitors.
“They just want to create visitors’ confidence that Bangla Rd is safe from COVID-19. All venues are prepared and are following the official measure very well,” the venue owner said.
Police on Wednesday warned night-entertainment operators and soapy massage parlours to comply with measures to curb the Covid-19 pandemic or their businesses would be closed again.
Assistant national police chief Pol Lt Gen Piya Uthayo said that national police chief Pol Gen Chaktip Chaijinda had instructed officers to make sure that entertainment venue operators complied with disease control regulations and that both the service providers and their customers understood and cooperated with the new norm, reports the Bangkok Post.
Entertainment venues which fail to adopt the health safety regulations will be given a warning by police and if they refuse to comply, they will be ordered to suspend operations, Gen Piya said.
However, V/Gov Pichet last night made no mention of the 22 draft rules revealed ahead of Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman for the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) in Bangkok, announcing on Monday (June 29) that all night entertainment venues may reopen but must strictly adhere to health guidelines set out to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
At last report, as of Tuesday, Phuket Provincial Health Office Chief Dr Thanit Sermkaew, Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup and Patong Entertainment Business Association (PEBA) President Weerawit Kreuasombat had all confirmed that they had yet to receive a copy of the full list of health regulations that entertainment venue operators in Phuket are to enforce.