Pubs and bars in the 17 provinces taking part in the government's tourism reopening programme are expected to be the first venues to reopen.

Establishments must stop serving alcohol at 9pm. However, licensing hours may be extended if the Covid-19 situation doesn't worsen, according to National Security Council (NSC) chief Supoj Malaniyom.

"At the moment, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) will stick to the 9pm deadline for serving and selling alcohol while an evaluation of the compliance rate and the Covid-19 situation is carried out over the initial 15 days," said Gen Supoj.

He was speaking in his capacity as the chief of the CCSA's operation centre. His comments came after a meeting he attended at Government House on Tuesday with a group of tourism and hospitality business operators who were lobbying for closing time to be extended to 11pm.

"The centre is closely monitoring the outcome of the easing of Covid-19 restrictions on alcohol selling, and there are discussions on these findings every two days which are then summarised into a full CCSA report every 15 days," he said.

He added there will be random inspections of venues to ensure compliance with alcohol sales restrictions.

"Any businesses caught breaking the rules will first be warned and legal action will later follow against those that repeat the misconduct," he said.

Infection rate and hospital bed occupancy are likely to be the key factors determining any change of policy on Nov 15, he said.