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Pattaya keeps talking about reopening, but is this just a waste of time?

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Pattaya keeps talking about reopening, but is this just a waste of time?

The Wishful Thinking continues in our coastal town and maybe unrealistic, but Pattaya remains to guess about Pattaya’s reopening on September 1.

Our esteemed mayor, Sonthaya Kunplome, chaired another meeting this week with deputy mayors, city council members and dozens of representatives from the tourism segment of Pattaya and the surrounding area.

They took turns talking about ‘Pattaya Move On’, a strategy to reopen the city on September 1 via a ‘closed route’ from Phuket or, perhaps, U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya Airport. But the proposal hasn’t even been submitted to the government, which is currently dealing with massive numbers of Covid19 infections and deaths amid a fiercely critical vaccine shortage and growing public discontent.

Meanwhile, Chonburi province yesterday reported a record 513 new cases of Covid19, 128 of which were in the Banglamung district, including Pattaya. Across Thailand, more than 9,000 cases were reported again for the third time in four days.

To reopen Pattaya, the number of cases in Pattaya would have to fall to less than 100 within a month and 70 per cent of the population would have to be vaccinated, currently less than 10 per cent.

Small hotels, bars, restaurants, massage shops and everything else in tourism is suffering enormously in this pandemic, where there is no end in sight.

Provincial government spokesman Pakarathorn Thienchai said the province had ordered 200,000 BBIBP-CorV Sinopharm vaccine doses developed by the China National Pharmaceutical Group. The Chulabhorn Royal Academy order was financed by provincial funds and made because Chonburi province has only supplied a small part of the required doses.

The ordered Sinopharm batch is only enough for 100,000 people, and will be destined for security officials working at checkpoints, teachers, slum residents, seniors, the chronically ill and people working in factories, tourism companies and areas with high transmission rates of Covid-19. .

Pattaya Business and Tourism Association chairman Boonanan Pattanasin said the province has not told the business community in Pattaya that will give them confidence about the near-term future and what will happen after the voluntary 2-week home insulation and perhaps more importantly…what will be done to compensate closed businesses.

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