The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration announced some easing restrictions for low-risk businesses that can reopen on from Friday..

The Communicable Disease Committee rubber stamped the BMA proposal to ease restrictions on 13 businesses and recreational activities starting tomorrow.

However, all must strictly observe social distancing and other COVID-19 prevention measures.

The 13 business and recreational activities are:

1. Gaming centers
2. Internet cafes
3. Daycare centers for the elderly
4. Sport stadiums/fields except boxing stadiums and horse racing tracks
5. Banquet halls but no more than 300 people are allowed otherwise special permission is required
6. Amulet shops
7. Tattoo and beauty parlours
8. Gyms, fitness clubs and other public areas for exercise, except personal training and classes
9. Traditional Thai massage and spa facilities
10. Gyms and boxing camps, no competitions permitted
11. Bowling and skating rinks, no competitions permitted
12. Dancing schools, no competitions permitted
13. Martial arts schools, no competitions permitted

Pubs, clubs & schools will remain closed.

There also no easing of 9pm closing / no alcohol for restaurants.

The body of a 53-year-old American man has been found in a Krabi hotel where he’d been staying as a long-term resident, according to local media.

Hotel staff called police and medics on Wednesday morning after the discovery was made when they went to collect rent and were overcome by a foul smell coming from inside the room. Upon entering they found the body laid naked on the floor.

It was believed the deceased, identified as Mr James Thomas, had been dead for around three days.

Staff told police he had checked into the hotel last March with his Malaysian girlfriend after becoming stranded in Thailand due to the Covid-19 situation.

He was last seen at the beginning of the week working on his laptop in the hotel lobby. His girlfriend had long ago checked out and Mr Thomas had been living in his room alone.

No foul play is suspected with the forensic examiner’s preliminary report stating natural causes as the most likely cause of death.

The body was sent to Surat Thani Hospital for autopsy and the relevant authorities notified.

Bangkok’s biggest soapy massage is throwing in the towel to become a hotel after Covid-19 killed their business.

The 11-storey Poseidon massage parlour on Ratchadaphisek Rd in the Huai Khwang area of the city boasted an in-house nightclub, restaurant and hundreds of luxury themed rooms filled with king-size beds and bathtubs.

Girls wore different badges according to their desirability with prices starting at 3,200 baht for two hours in a private room – with membership schemes for loyal customers.

However, despite the luxurious appeal, visitor numbers have plummeted since March last year when a travel ban was introduced and ‘high risk’ businesses were closed.

Poseidon did re-open but was closed for a second time at the end of December following the Covid-19 outbreak at a seafood market in Samut Sakhon province.

Dejected owners of Bangkok’s biggest soapy will now rip out the garish furnishing and turn it into a three-star hotel.

A source at the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), which owns the land and overseas the lease, said the Covid-19 pandemic had killed the massage parlour’s income. They now want to change their line of business to adapt to the new economy.

The source said: ‘Poseidon is on a large plot and their lease will expire in February 2024. They have requested a renewal of the 30-year lease along with a request to modify the 11-story building.

‘Currently, they operate a massage parlour business but the Covid-19 outbreak has caused a downturn in business as there are no tourists. They have a budget of 200 million baht to turn the building into a three-star hotel business.’

The transition from soapy massage knocking shop to a hotel is going to take some serious marketing efforts to prevent former customers showing up only to find the goldfish bowl has gone along with the hundreds of ladies.