Thai Government crushes false rumors of national lockdown, alcohol bans

Thailand-

The Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration, or CCSA, has continued to crush what they call “false rumors” and “fake news” of impending national lockdowns and alcohol bans that have been prevalent on social media over the past several days, despite yesterday’s announcement of control zones.

Dr. Taweesin Visanuyothin, the spokesperson for the CCSA, has stated that a national lockdown is not on the agenda and fake rumors online were mostly spread by what what the CCSA referred to as fake news and fear mongering. The CCSA announced yesterday that Thailand will be utilizing a zoning system and feel they can completely manage the virus without resorting to draconian lockdowns that strangle the economy and hurt small and medium business owners.

You can read about this system here:

CCSA categorizes all provinces into four zones for tightening Covid-19 control measures, confirms no National lockdown

According to the CCSA, unfounded rumors of closures, alcohol bans, national travel restrictions and other measures for the entire country continue to dominate social media despite repeated reassurance that those measures are not on the agenda at a national level. Highly Controlled Zones, of which currently only Samut Sakhon is in, have provincial and regional restrictions that are up to the Governor working in partnership with the CCSA, Dr. Taweesin added.

Dr. Taweesin also reassured nervous New Year travelers that there would not be “surprise lockdowns” trapping them in provinces and that people can rest assure that the Public Health Ministry has the resources and testing and tracing capability to handle the current cluster of infections in the country. He stated that everyone should utilize Covid-19 best practices like hand washing, mask wearing and social distancing but that all business sectors, including entertainment, were able to operate, albeit with Covid-19 precautions.

The Pattaya News also notes that rumors of restricting access to the country and stopping entry of foreigners is also false, as the CCSA noted their quarantine measures and other systems for international travelers, such as foreigners arriving on a tourist visa, remain intact and working well.