Heartbroken traders dismantled their stalls after a popular market was closed due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation in Thailand.

Footage shows the independent businessmen and women taking about the stands at the Rod Fai Night Market in the Ratchada area of the capital Bangkok on August 20.

The food and souvenir market was once packed every night with tens of thousand of tourists – many from China – but it has been eerily quiet since international travel restrictions started in March last year.

Hopes of reviving the attraction with domestic visitors were dashed when the government rolled out a partial lockdown with a curfew, sweeping business closures and an interprovincial travel ban in July.

Thailand has recorded 1,066,786 cases and 9,562 deaths as of August 23. Ministers believe the wave of Delta variant infections which started up May – reaching 23,000 a day earlier this month – has peaked but some doctors still predict up to 400,000 more cases while the daily rate slows.