BANGKOK: Shoppers flocked to Thailand’s top-end malls on Sunday (May 17), eager for retail therapy as shopping centres reopened in a gradual easing of restrictions to revive the coronavirus-ravaged economy.
Hundreds of masked customers passed through temperature checks, disinfection stations and had their photos taken before they were allowed into plush malls in Bangkok.
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In the main downtown shopping district, Central World touted a “new normal” of doing business on posters, while screens on the mall’s exterior declared “We are open”.
The shopping centre relaunch comes with Thailand’s infection numbers slowing in recent weeks – authorities announced three new cases Sunday, with the total at just over 3,000.
READ: Thailand extends ban on incoming international flights until end June
People stand in line to enter the Siam Paragon shopping mall in Bangkok on May 17, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Mladen Antonov)
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People wait in line to enter the Siam Paragon shopping mall in Bangkok on May 17, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Mladen Antonov)
Shopper Taewich Penpattakul said he was “not really worried” about contracting COVID-19 because of Thailand’s low caseload.
“Mentally, it makes me feel better that all the malls are now opened,” the 23-year-old told AFP.
Customers and businesses were advised to adhere to restrictions, which include limits on the number of people allowed in retail spaces and a ban on alcohol sales in restaurants. Cinemas, however, remain closed.
READ: Chilli paste to haircuts: Thai tourism workers improvise as COVID-19 hits travel
A visitor rides an escalator in front of a screen featuring the slogan “New Normal” at the Central World shopping mall in Bangkok on May 17, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Mladen Antonov)
A giant screen welcomes visitors at the Central World shopping mall in Bangkok on May 17, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Mladen Antonov)
The food court – often the most popular part of Thai shopping centres – filled up quickly, and a mobile robot roamed around monitoring people’s temperatures.
Tables had plastic dividers set up to encourage social distancing, while one restaurant placed cardboard dinosaurs opposite customers to indicate the place was not to be used.
The government is also urging retailers and shoppers to check in on a digital platform when entering malls – it will send a message if a coronavirus case is discovered in a specific store.
“We would have to wait until a few weeks to see if this is a good idea and if they (the government) can still control COVID-19,” said Jason Noel, 25, who was eyeing up some purchases.
READ: Panda dolls kick COVID-19 blues for Thai diners
People eat next to cardboard dinosaurs used for social distancing at Bar-B-Q Plaza restaurant at the Icon Siam luxury shopping mall in Bangkok on May 17, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Lillian Suwanrumpha)
A woman walks past a temperature-measuring mobile robot at the Icon Siam shopping mall in Bangkok on May 17, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Lillian Suwanrumpha)
Shopping centres – along with other public spaces like stadiums, gyms and parks – were ordered to close in mid-March as Thailand entered a state of emergency to curb the spread of infections.
But retailers have felt the slump since January when an economic malaise settled over a kingdom heavily dependent on spending from Chinese tourists.
Thailand on Saturday extended a ban on inbound international flights until Jun 30.
Its economy is forecast to contract by more than 6 per cent – the sharpest plunge since the crisis of 1997.
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