City Hall announced late Thursday afternoon that it was canceling all official New Year’s events to combat the spread of COVID-19.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration said it was acting at the urging of the COVID-19 task force, which in turn cited WHO guidelines for the move, which comes as the disease’s so-called Omicron variant continues to spread.
Private parties may go on as planned — for now — but should comply with public health measures.
While the city-sponsored New Year’s events will not go forward — including a prayer pow wow planned outside City Hall — private events such as the riverside Iconsiam shopping mall’s fireworks boomie boom are still set to go off. A CentralwOrld rep said its usual NYE party and fireworks show is still on — unless City Hall asks them to skip it.
Though only several dozen cases of Omicron have been confirmed, about 100 more suspected cases are being studied.
Clarification: This story was updated to make clear it applies to the city-hosted events where the big fun is not to be found anyway.
