Booze ban lifted and the thirsty went wild

 | Mon 4 May 2020 16:57 ICT

Chiang Mai officials visited Makro (Nongpratheep Branch) yesterday following the end of the alcohol ban which saw people rush to restock their depleting stock.


Governor Charoenrit Sanguansak himself took an entourage of officials with him to inspect the mega store after clips circulated on social media showing some very socially adjacent people scramble to top up their supplies.

While it was found that queues for checkout were very long and there were many people in the store, it was also found upon arrival that on the whole people were orderly and calm. The governor asked Makro to step up measures to ensure social distancing, but said that it was to be expected that people get a bit excited on the first day. He expects things to return to an orderly fashion by today.

The governor also said that officials were keeping an eye on alcohol purchases, as there had been fears that people would overly hoard alcohol and start drinking socially in public. But he said that it appears that there was no cause of concern as yet.