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Photo of Thai Prime Minister ignoring social distancing rules in Phuket leads to annoyance!

A Thai Facebook user named Siriwan Ruksat yesterday posted a photo of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his entourage on social media as they dined at a beachfront restaurant in Phuket.

Prime Minister Prayut was in the province on the first day of the island’s reopening to welcome fully vaccinated foreigners under the sandbox arrangement.

The restaurant where Prayut and his entourage were spotted is located in the Thalang district and faces the ocean. The photo shows the prime minister and associates sitting close to each other, while some members of the party are not wearing masks.

This social post sparked widespread criticism, with Thai citizens criticizing the prime minister and his entourage for violating disease control measures while leading a campaign aimed at promoting Thailand as a safe destination.

“This is highly unacceptable. While restaurants in Bangkok do not allow guests to dine together, the Prime Minister is dining without respecting social distancing in Phuket,” an internet user wrote.

Another tahsin citizen came in Prayut’s defence, pointing out that Phuket is not a red zone, so dining doesn’t break the rules, urging critics to “stop attacking the government on every trivial detail.” ”.

Commenting on this posted photo, Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul wrote that everyone in the photo was seated quite a distance from each other and that they had all been vaccinated against the Covid19 virus.

“Most importantly, there is no rule against dining at restaurants in Phuket as the province has already relaxed disease control measures,” Anutin added.

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