American sailors are set to return to Pattaya in August, bringing much-needed relief to the economically depressed city.
Deputy Mayors Ronakit Ekasingh and Manote Nongyai met April 21 with Capt. Matt Barker, naval attaché at the United States embassy in Bangkok, and Charles Butler, of the U.S. Force Protection Detachment. They discussed August’s Cobra Gold joint naval exercise – delayed from this spring – and shore leave for up to 2,000 U.S. forces.
Barker told the Pattaya administrators that all the U.S. sailors will be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus before they arrive in Thailand. Pattaya officials said they still would be screened for Covid-19 regardless.
The deputy mayors said they hoped to have 70 percent of the Pattaya population vaccinated before then.
