From The Thaiger

Wear a mask or pay a hefty fine… and possibly even go to jail. Phuket governor Narong Woonciew issued an immediate order requiring people in the island province to wear a face mask while in public to control the spread of Covid-19. Those who violate the order could face a 20,000 baht fine.

Those who breach the order can also face punishment under the Communicable Disease Act which carries a fine of up to 100,000 baht and up to a year in prison. People can also face penalties under the Emergency Decree.

The order says not wearing a mask “could create unsanitary conditions that could cause dangerous communicable diseases or epidemics to spread.” People in the province are ordered to wear a mask while at public places, but don’t need to wear a mask while eating, drinking or exercising.

“Any person who leaves their home, residence in a house, house, building, place or vehicle, or is in a public place must always wear a face mask or cloth mask.”

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From The Phuket News

Phuket hotels start closing again

PHUKET: Hotels across Phuket that had re-opened in the hope of attracting enough guests to at least pay operating costs are now closing again, Kongsak Khoopongsakorn, President of the Thailand Hotels Association Southern chapter, has confirmed.

The lack of even domestic tourists due to the current COVID-19 outbreak has taken its toll, he said.

“As a result of the new outbreak of COVID-19, some hotel operators are considering temporarily closing their hotels again because a lot of bookings have been cancelled, and they cannot handle the costs,” Mr Kongsak said.