Wearing masks is now compulsory in public spaces in 49 provinces of Thailand as well as the capital, Bangkok. AFP
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was fined for not wearing a mask on April 26 after new Covid-19 restrictions came into force to try to halt the country's spiralling outbreak.
Wearing masks is now compulsory in public spaces in 49 provinces and the capital, Bangkok – where the latest outbreak has been traced back to a nightlife district.
Some locations are backing up that requirement with a 20,000 baht ($640) fine.
After a picture of a maskless Prayut attending a meeting emerged on social media on April 26, the Bangkok governor said the premier had been fined 6,000 baht ($190).
"As Bangkok governor, I filed a complaint against the prime minister who accepted the fine," governor Aswin Kwanmuang wrote on Facebook.
Some 2,048 new cases were announced in Thailand on April 26. The day before, the country recorded its highest single-day death toll of the pandemic, with 11 fatalities.
Until the latest outbreak, Thailand had managed to keep infections down thanks to strict travel restrictions and swift action to isolate confirmed cases.
But there have been complaints about the slow rollout of vaccines, with the kingdom lagging behind other countries in the region.
"It's a failure in management from the health ministry," said 61-year-old restaurant manager Pracha, who only gave his first name.
Prayut said on Facebook the government was trying to source more doses and ramp up the programme to inoculate 300,000 people a day.
In addition to the mask requirement, authorities in the capital have closed a raft of venues including cinemas, parks, gyms, swimming pools, spas and nurseries.
The new restrictions come a week after bars and nightclubs were ordered closed and restaurants banned from serving alcohol.
Pranee Namrat, a 48-year-old seafood vendor, told AFP she was frightened the situation would get worse.
"If I got infected … I'm scared of not having a place for treatment," she said.
Neighbouring Laos – which appeared to escape the brunt of the pandemic last year – is also undergoing a surge, jumping from 58 cases to 436 in less than a week.
Its capital Vientiane was placed under a snap lockdown last week, with authorities prohibiting residents from leaving their homes except for groceries and going to the hospital.
