People who do not take reasonable precautions to protect themselves from the disease may face legal action, he warned.
“We received the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) headquarters in Bangkok for all national parks in the country to be closed. The order stated that the parks are to remain closed until the situation regarding the COVID-19 outbreak returns to normal,” Park Chief Natthawat told The Phuket News.
“The order explained that the DNP is aware of the rapidly growing number of infections, and the measures needed to be implement to help prevent the spread of the disease, as well as the need to protect the safety of personnel and people who come to visit the park,” he said.
At this stage people are still allowed to enter the park, Park Chief Natthawat noted, but stressed that officers will enforce the requirements for people to not conduct any gatherings in the park and to take precautions against infection.
“But if people are just driving through the park, enjoying individual exercise or walking along the beach, as long as it is not an activity being held as a group or for a long time, we will allow it,” Chief Natthawat said.
Any persons who ignore instructions by park officers will be breaking the law under Section 20 of the National Park Act B.E. 2562 (2019), Chief Natthawat noted.
The penalty under Section 20 is a fine of up to B100,000, he said.