Just before the Songkran festival weekend - a weekend where 500 or so people die in drunk driving road fatalities annually but the festival continues out of tradition, the Thai government suspended all alcohol sales nationwide.
This was kind of funny because there was a sudden RUSH on all places that sold booze immediately following the news.
People were buying MUCH more beer than one person, or eve a very large family would be capable of purchasing at cash and carry shops such as Makro. Pickup trucks were being loaded with palates of booze that could only be picked up by a fork truck.
Then the 10 day "ban" began.
Now, if you walk into 7-11, Tesco, Big-C or some sort of corporate entity, they will not sell you any alcohol under any circumstances, buuuuuut the local shops will as long as you are a bit covert about it.
You see, the small communities are not so much governed by national law even though they are meant to be. The unofficial leader of each community is known as a Poo Yai Baan which simply means the "head of the village" and it is his duty to be a sheriff of sorts for the area. Just like an actual sheriff, popularity is key to his maintenance of position, so the "mom and pop" shops sell beer and liquor around the clock just like they always have.
They are jacking the price up, but not extortionately because it is important to them to keep the community "sweet."
I would be willing to bet that the small minimarts LOVE this alcohol ban because it isn't actually preventing booze from being sold, it is just streamlining all the customers to their shops.
The shop on my street, I buy from them every day and they sell it to me without fear because they know that no one is watching.
I actually love this kind of lawlessness... because the decree was actually pretty dumb to begin with. How was banning the sale of alcohol going to prevent the spread of Covid anyway?