You can say 再见 (goodbye) to dragon dances, drum rolls, and busy street food stalls after City Hall canceled Chinatown's Chinese New Year festivities for a second year. 

 

Originally scheduled for February 1, the Lunar New Year will go uncelebrated in the streets of the original diaspora community due to the ongoing pandemic. 

 

Nevertheless, Yaowarat Road will see lighting decorations on the streets and at the Odeon Circle. Some traditional activities such as paying respect to gods and spirits per the Thai-Chinese culture can be conducted but with preventive measures.

 

The Omicron outbreak has spread throughout the country with thousands of infections daily, but with two Omicron variant-related deaths confirmed so far.

 

Thailand today reported 7,122 COVID-19 new infections today, and though that may be a vast undercount, the daily caseload has hovered around there for the past week. Currently 81,602 are being hospitalized. Hospitalizations, after more than doubling in the first two weeks of the year from 33,000 to 75,000, have remained around 82,000 for the past three days.

 

Twelve more deaths were recorded today.