Patrons of seven Bangkok pubs and bars, mostly in the Ekkamai and Thong Lor areas, have been advised to contact health officials after a COVID-19 cluster was reported.
On Friday, the Disease Control Department said that 40 people in 7 venues have been infected with COVID-19 between 25th-27th March.
They included 21 cases found at Krystal in Thong Lor, 8 at Beer House in Ekkamai, 5 at Bla Bla Pub and Dollar Bangkok in Thong Lor, and 3 at The Cassette Music Bar and Pub Dirty in Ekkamai.
Another 3 were found at Baan Phahol Cafe and Bar in the Chatuchak area.
The department said a number of foreigners were among the new cases found at Beer House.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration urged people who went to any of the venues from 25th March to go to its COVID-19 website to conduct an assessment or call 02-203-2393 or 02-203-2396 for advice.
All venues have since been sprayed with disinfectant, it added.
A preliminary investigation has found the cases at the Bangkok entertainment venues were linked to about 40 previous cases found in 10 bars in Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Nakhon Pathom and Bangkok. They involved pubgoers, musicians and their families.
Department director-general Opas Karnkawinpong said the new cluster might have originated with a Thammasat University student who hung out at two pubs in the Rangsit area of Pathum Thani on 16th March before spreading to other people, including musicians and staff.
“Most pubgoers do not hang out at a single place. That was why the cluster could spread very quickly,” Dr Karnkawinpong said.
Musicians and their assistants followed the same pattern, he said, as they often moved from one place to another, sometimes on the same night.
