The following is our weekly feature in which we highlight the top five LOCAL stories in Pattaya and our surrounding area that are of direct interest to our local residents. We cover National stories on a separate article. These stories are chosen by our editorial staff for their relevance and importance for our community. As we publish over a dozen articles on most days this allows our readers to quickly identify the biggest stories of the week.

They are in no particular order of importance.

These are from December 20th, 2020 to December 26th.

1. Pattaya City hope people still visit the area despite Covid-19 clusters in Thailand, New Year’s events cancelled

2. Chonburi announces two locally transmitted cases of Covid-19

In a week full of Covid-19 news at a national level, Chonburi announced their first two cases connected to a cluster of infections originally starting from a fish market in Samut Sakhon.

3.  Pattaya welcomes new top cops

Pattaya City, in what was deemed by the Royal Thai Police as standard yearly promotions and changes of role, welcomed a new Police Chief and assistant Chief this week.

4. Pattaya police crank up Covid-19 inspections and measures

Following the previously mentioned Covid-19 clusters of infection in the country Pattaya City has increased the number and level of inspections in Pattaya, especially around entertainment venues, construction sites and seafood markets.

5. Pattaya cancels or postpones major New Years events

As previously mentioned, Pattaya cancelled the popular New Year Countdown festival that was set to help domestic tourism for the city. They also cancelled multiple other events or postponed them, see below.