Love loses to COVID as Bangkok calls off Valentine’s marriage license fest

Things must be bad when one of Bangkok’s best-loved rituals of love – a run on marriage licenses in the district synonymous with romance – has to be called off.

Marriages are off the table this Valentine’s Day, a time when many couples normally flock to do the paperwork in Bang Rak (“Love Canal”), as city officials said they won’t provide the service due to COVID-19 concerns, City Hall’s Silapasuai Rawisaengsun said Friday. 

None of Bangkok’s 50 district offices will conduct the customary Love Day special operations in part because Valentine’s falls on a Sunday, and city workers aren’t working on weekends due to the pandemic. Only death certificates will be available that day, but they don’t come in a cute commemorative folder. 

Under normal circumstances, every district office around the city works overtime to throw a big celebration on…