Phuket Governor Phakkhaphong Thawiphat ordered all residents and travellers in the province to wear sanitary or cloth face masks when in public or face a fine of up to Bt20,000.
The order, announced on Monday, takes effect from today (April 7).
“The Phuket Committee for Communicable Disease has agreed to enforce the order as the Covid-19 situation in the province is escalating, with the number of infected people rising,” the announcement said. “Under this order, every person must wear a sanitary or cloth face mask when leaving their residences, and they must not do anything that could jeopardise public safety or spread the disease.”
Those who disobey the order will be in violation of Section 51 of the Communicable Disease Act BE 2558, which is punishable by a maximum fine of Bt20,000.
As of Monday, Phuket had 123 confirmed Covid-19 cases, with 1,695 others under investigation. Of these, 1,503 tested negative and have been discharged while 192 are still in hospital and 98 are awaiting lab results.
