The director of the Health Department told INNÂ why allowing people to drink in pubs and bars and nightclubs was a very bad idea.
And why alcohol was such a menace when it comes to the spread of Covid.
Dr Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai trotted out a list of reasons as long as his surname, notes ASEAN NOW.
The practicalities of sitting in a bar were paramount – people would stay in close proximity for a long time and forget themselves and forget the rules.
But there are medical reasons.
“Alcohol causes the muscles in the neck around the pharynx to be less effective,” he said.
“Thus allowing Covid to more easily penetrate and get into the lungs.
“In addition, alcohol weakens the white blood cells when Covid-19 germs enter the body,” he continued.
“So it’s easy to get infected.”
He said that social distancing is often forgotten and people don’t wear masks when imbibing further increasing the hazards associated with alcohol consumption.
He claimed that a department poll of the general public conducted in the first two weeks of November indicated that 56.8% didn’t want any changes to the alcohol serving rules.
The ones that did side with bar owners and the opening up of the economy, he noted.
Elsewhere today on ASEAN NOW a Chonburi tourism business leader took aim at many restrictions including the alcohol ban and the fact that pubs, bars and nightclubs have mostly been ordered to stay shut.
Although not a doctor he said that it was putting off tourists coming to Thailand and that certain restrictions were ridiculous especially as alcohol was readily available outside clubs that remain shut.
https://aseannow.com/topic/1239907-moph-drinking-alcohol-increases-risk-of-contracting-covid/
