The government is considering easing Covid-19 restrictions in Samut Sakhon province, the epicentre of the new Covid-19 wave, and a slight relaxation could happen as soon as next week.
Apisamai Srirangson, assistant spokeswoman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), said the Covid-19 situation in Samut Sakhon was discussed yesterday morning and local officials would assess the possibility of easing controls.
Dr Apisamai said provincial authorities had reported effective disease-control measures in high-risk areas, including the Central Shrimp Market, which has been closed for nearly two months.
Some officials believe the market could even reopen by Monday but the CCSA had yet to make a final decision, she said.
Proactive testing has been done on 99,760 people in 1,251 places in Samut Sakhon since Dec 26 and only 898 people, or 0.9% of those tested, were found to be infected.
Dr Apisamai said testing at factories and markets found just 0.5% of 42,441 people to be infected, in a further sign of progress on the Covid-19 front.
A deputy governor of Samut Sakhon had voiced concern about the impact of the restrictions on local activities, specifically in education since students have for some time only been able to learn online.
Local officials have therefore asked the CCSA to turn Samut Sakhon from a dark-red (maximum) Covid-19 control zone to a red zone, Dr Apisamai said.
This would allow entertainment venues and restaurants to stay open until 11pm.
Drinking and live music would also be allowed, but dancing would still be prohibited, if the change goes ahead.
The switch would also mean that meetings could be held with a limited numbers of attendees and schools could reopen with distancing and a mix of online and classroom teaching.
Samut Sakhon logged 30 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, 48% of the national daily total of 72.