“It would be better to exercise at home,” she told The Phuket News today.
Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) Chief Thanit Sermkaew has already confirmed that people in Phuket can exercise outdoors if they wished, just as promoted by some public announcements issued by the Ministry of Public Health.
However, Chief Thanit did urge people to exercise at home for now, and cautioned that any persons leaving their homes must still abide by the health orders issued in Phuket to prevent the spread of including virus, including the ban on travelling outside the subdistrict where they are staying and the requirement for all people to wear a face mask at all times while in public or else face a fine of up to B20,000.
Yet an expat living and working in Phuket for six years contacted The Phuket News after he was warned that he would be reported for jogging in Patong alone yesterday evening “running very slowly, with a mask, by myself, avoiding people”.
The expat explained that he was stopped by “a friendly Thai man (volunteer, I guess), and a less friendly female foreign tourist police officer. They were on a scooter, and she was not wearing a helmet”.
The female foreign tourist police officer told the man that he was not allowed to exercise in public
“She could not explain what governmental decree or law I was breaking… I pointed out that two Thai ladies were playing badminton in the street 50 meters away, and they told me that was ‘their house’, the expat explained
The issue came to ahead when the expat refused to remove his face mask for his photo to be taken.
“Patong Municipality has not banned people from coming out in public. but we don’t recommend doing so, as there are still risks of infection and of the virus spreading,” Mayor Chalermluck explained today.
“We have to ask everyone for cooperation to stay in their homes and go outside only when it is necessary, such as buying food and other essential goods,” she said.
“I know that staying home for a long time is quite boring, but please be patient, we will pass through this crisis as soon as possible,” Mayor Chalermluck added.
“If one person starts going outside [like this], then more people will follow and do the same. With more people outside in the same area at the same time, the virus can spread,” she explained.
“Please follow the request, so the flu will be gone as quickly as possible and our lives and Phuket will be back to normal again,” Mayor Chalermluck urged.