Bangkok cancels official new year events amid fear of Omicron

By KalingaTV Bureau On Dec 24, 2021 0

April 12, 2013 - Bangkok, Thailand - Thais sprinkle scented oils on the Phra Buddha Sihing while it is paraded through the streets of Bangkok on the first day of Songrkran. The Phra Buddha Sihing, a revered statue of the Buddha, is carried by truck through the streets of Bangkok so people can make offerings and bathe it in scented oils. Songkran is celebrated in Thailand as the traditional New Year's Day from 13 to 16 April. The date of the festival was originally set by astrological calculation, but it is now fixed. If the days fall on a weekend, the missed days are taken on the weekdays immediately following. Songkran is in the hottest time of the year in Thailand, at the end of the dry season and provides an excuse for people to cool off in friendly water fights that take place throughout the country. The traditional Thai New Year has been a national holiday since 1940, when Thailand moved the first day of the year to January 1. The first day of the holiday period is generally the most devout and many people go to temples to make merit and offer prayers for the new year. (Credit Image: © Jack Kurtz/ZUMAPRESS.com)

Bangkok: The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has announced that it will cancel all of its new year countdown events due to potentially rapid spread of the Omicron strain of Covid-19.

According to Deputy Governor of Bangkok Kriangyos Sudlabha, all new year’s eve activities including Buddhists chanting hosted by the BMA across all 50 districts will be cancelled, Xinhua news agency reported.

However, private events are still allowed as planned but each event must implement stricter measures against Covid-19 such as screening, cleaning and social distancing protocols, Kriangyos said.

All event attendees must present proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test result within 72 hours, and organisers are required to prepare emergency quarantine areas at the venue in case any infections are found, he added.

As of December 22, more than 100 cases of the Omicron variant have been reported in the country, with several others waiting for the confirmation result.

Thailand has temporarily suspended the registration for quarantine exemption for foreign visitors since December 22 in order to prevent the transmission of the new highly contagious variant.

(IANS)