BANGKOK, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in all provinces of Thailand are conducting patrols to keep people from partying for the now-suspended Songkran festival, which would be otherwise held at risk of COVID-19 infection.
Interior Ministry's Permanent Secretary Chatchai Phromlert has issued an order for provincial authorities over the weekend to conduct patrols around hotels' lounges and rooms, tourist resorts and other public places to assure nobody will hold or attend a celebration party for the otherwise fun-filled festival which has been indefinitely postponed by the government to stem the pandemic.
The annual Songkran, otherwise held between the upcoming Monday and Wednesday, is feared to encourage festival revelers to get together whereas a social-distancing measure is being enforced nationwide to contain the pandemic.
Several provinces including Pattaya and Phuket have already ordered hotels to temporarily close under a lockdown measure while Bangkok, Chiang Mai and several others are banning the sales of all alcoholic beverages from Friday until April 20 in effort to keep festival revelers from getting together for drinks.
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who concurrently acts as head of the government-run Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration, has called on the people nationwide to stay home rather than leave for the provinces to celebrate Songkran festival with their relatives at risk of virus infection.
Thailand is currently under curfew nationwide between 10:00 p.m. local time and 4:00 a.m. local time daily.
