Prime Minister Fined Rs 14,000 As He Attends Covid Meeting Without Face Mask
Even the prime minister in Thailand is not exempt from following rules and regulations! Setting an example, governor of Bangkok on Monday slapped a fine of 6,000 baht (Rs 14,000) on Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha for not wearing a mask while attending a meeting at the Government House to discuss the COVID-19 situation in the country.
The move came after a photograph of Prayuth appeared on his Facebook page showing him not wearing a mask in a meeting. The picture was met with much public criticism, and had to be taken down. Later, governor of Bangkok Aswin Kwanmuang Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang posted on Facebook that he had filed a complaint against the PM for violating Covid rules. The prime minister made an inquiry to city hall about the restrictions, which specify that masks should be worn at all times outside residences, prompting his fine, said Aswin.
“After the meeting, the prime minister asked me as the governor of Bangkok to investigate if the case is wrongdoing. I informed him that his action violates the announcement by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration which ordered people in Bangkok to wear surgical masks or cloth masks anytime they leave their residence. Violation results in a fine up to 20,000 baht under Section 51 of the 2015 Disease Control Act”, Governor Aswin Kwanmuang wrote on his official Facebook page.
Notably, in a bid to contain coronavirus, Thai officials are imposing fines of up to 20,000 baht (Rs 47,610) on people who fail to wear face masks in public in 48 provinces,as the government in struggled to cope with a new wave of coronavirus cases that is straining the country’s medical system. Last year too, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov was fined 300 Levs by the country’s health ministry for failing to wear a mask during his visit to a church on June 23.
Thailand, which has barred the entry of travelers from India, with the exception of Thai citizens, from May 1, on Monday announced 2,048 new infections and eight new deaths, the fourth consecutive day with over 2,000 new Covid-19 cases.
