Masks rule to stay for public transport

Masks rule to stay for public transport

Aekkachai: People need to be aware.
Aekkachai: People need to be aware.

Wearing face masks on public transport and in cinemas is still mandatory, the Department of Health said.

Covid-19 will be eased from a dangerous communicable disease to a communicable disease under surveillance on Saturday, as re-stated on Thursday by Dr Aekkachai Piansriwatchara, a deputy director of the Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health.

The department held a press conference on sanitation and environmental health standards after the reclassification of the virus.

Topics addressed included concerns about higher-risk businesses and whether the Thai Stop COVID-19 2 Plus platform would remain in place.

Dr Aekkachai said the cleaning of common contact points and workplace screenings will still be required to ensure public safety despite the easing of most measures.

That being said, the department will moderate the measures applied to some higher-risk businesses while the aforementioned platform will be retained as those firms are required to follow the Public Health Act and Communicable Diseases Act.

The department still mandates that people wear face masks and respect social distancing rules as much as possible when using public transport or visiting the cinema, due to the density of people packed closely together, Dr Aekkachai said.

He answered a question on how people's lives will change by saying they will improve, referring to their better health awareness compared to earlier in the pandemic.

A survey carried out by the Department of Health on 274,400 people showed that most respondents agreed on the need to retain the health measures, while some expressed concern about the hygiene of certain public places.

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