Alcoholic product purchases will be permitted again from Sunday but when they reopen, people will not be able to drink in restaurants, the government said Friday.
The declaration was reported in the Royal Gazette on Friday as part of easing some of the strict steps placed in the fight against coronavirus.
The announcement marks a government about-face, which announced earlier this week that the prohibition on alcohol will stay in place until May 31, after it extended another month's emergency decree.
"Shops selling alcoholic drinks are permitted to operate, but the shop's use is prohibited," Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha signed the Royal Gazette notice. It will come into practice on Sunday.
Restaurants will not be permitted to sell drinks as part of their reopening condition from Sunday. Pubs and other places of entertainment where alcohol is consumed shall remain closed.
The prohibition on the selling of alcoholic drinks was implemented across the country for the bulk of April, with certain provincial governors enforcing curbs faster than others. It began from April 10, in Bangkok.
The purpose of the ban was to curb social gatherings which increase the risk of transmission of coronavirus. Gatherings in pubs and other places where alcohol was consumed were connected to hundreds of cases of Covid-19 when the virus first started circulating in Thailand.
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