In an effort to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus, a mall in Thailand has replaced lift buttons with foot pedals to help restore the normalcy and get shoppers spending again.
Customers at Bangkok's Seacon Square were surprised and confused this week to find pedals in front of the elevators, moving inside, they were welcomed by the new hands-free enhancement as a smart move to stay healthy.
"They did a good job in preparing this. I feel much safer because we use our hands to do various things all the time," said a customer who disclosed only her first name, Watcharaporn.
"Now that we can use our foot to press the elevator, it's really great."
Prote Sosothikul, the vice president of Seacon Development, which oversees the mall, said the foot pedals gave shoppers some peace of mind. "The easiest way to get infected is when you touch an object that has been contaminated," he said. "Eventually touch your face and the virus will go into your mouth, your eyes, or whatever. So we came up with this idea of hand-free, foot-operated elevator."
Thailand opened malls and department stores on Sunday for the first time since March, its second phase of relaxing measures as the number of new coronavirus cases slows. It has confirmed 3,034 cases and 56 deaths.
Its economy, Southeast Asia's second-largest, contracted at its sharpest pace in eight years in the first quarter, pushing it into recession sooner than expected, as the coronavirus outbreak hit tourism and domestic activity.