Malls in Thailand to reopen after two months

Shopping malls in Thailand are preparing to reopen, almost two months after authorities closed them down in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

In one Bangkok mall on Thursday, shop assistants re-stocked shelves and burnished windows of upmarket stores, while cleaners in hazmat suits disinfected public walkways and doused an entrance concourse with water from a flying drone.

The government is widely expected to announce the move on Friday, with doors slated to reopen on Sunday.

They were pulling out all the stops outside Bangkok's Siam Paragon mall: a vivid, eye-catching attempt to convince the public that the glitzy precinct, beloved of the city's high-rollers, is squeaky clean and safe.

The mall has been open for bank customers and take-away restaurants, but since March 22, all other outlets – including some of the world's leading brand stores, like Prada, Chanel and Fendi – have been shuttered.

For Puangrat Chalaitong, who works at a shop selling aromatic oils, it was good news.

"I am so bored at home. I really want to come back to work," she said.

But her colleague, Yupin Santad, was concerned about safety.

"I am scared but I can only try to do something to protect myself. That's the best I can do," she said.

The malls owners believe they've got that covered.

They are putting in place a raft of measures to ensure that when customers return, they don't bring COVID-19 with them.

Thermal scanners at each entrance will check the temperature of everyone who enters, while about 300 handwash dispensers have been installed.

Everyone who enters must wear a mask and for those who turn up without one, there is a vending machine at hand to dispense them.

A robot will follow anyone who takes their mask off once inside and broadcast persistent messages asking them to put it back on.

Customers will also have to download an app and register themselves when they enter and leave the mall.

This will track them in and out of shops, so if someone later contracts the virus, authorities can contact anyone who may have been in contact with them.

The government says the data will only be used for public health purposes.

Naratipe Ruttapradid, Executive Vice President-Operations of the Siam Piwat group which owns the mall, says shoppers will have to adjust to a totally new experience.

"We will have a new normal. I think when we reopen our shopping centers, the numbers of customers won't be the same," she says. "

Thailand's Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, turned up to cast a cursory eye over preparations.

The green light for reopening on Sunday is expected to come after a high-level government meeting on Friday.

On Wednesday, authorities reported zero new cases, for the first time since early March, strengthening the government's belief that it's time to further loosen restrictions.

Thailand's long-sluggish economy has been pulverized by the COVID-19 lockdown. Reopening the malls will be a welcome boost.

"We can't just say that we can control the outbreak very well, control the situation very well but the people can't do anything or business can't be operated. That's not success," said Anutin, on Thursday.

As of Thursday, Thailand has reported 3,018 cases of COVID-19, with 56 deaths.