BANGKOK, May 7 (Xinhua) -- All beaches in Pattaya are being declared off-limits to people from the upcoming Saturday until the end of this month, said a senior official of the tourist resort city on Thursday.
Barricades are being set up along the perimeters of the beaches in Pattaya City in eastern Thailand to keep out any visitors and local villagers from Saturday until the end of this month, according to Cheeravat Sukhonthasap, head of the city's Cleanliness and Orderliness Office.
The latest measure in Pattaya apparently followed events in which many people have not only visited the city's beach areas but also broken the social distancing rule by engaging in group activities such as swimming in the sea and drinking sprees on the beaches for hours, Cheeravat said.
Pattaya has eased up measures against the COVID-19 pandemic by allowing the sales of alcoholic beverages and removing road checkpoints for people getting in or out of the seaside city.
The authorities have been calling on members of the public to strictly observe social distancing to protect themselves from possible infection. Enditem
