COVID-19: Chile’s president fined $3,500 for no-mask selfie
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera has been fined $3,500 for breaching COVID-19 rules by posing for a selfie without wearing a face mask.
The picture of Pinera with a woman also with no mask on, had gone viral earlier in the month and caused a backlash.
The Chilean president has, however, apologised and admitted that he should have worn a face mask when the woman requested a picture with him on a beach near his home in Cachagua.
The country, which has strict rules about wearing face masks in public, has violations punishable with penalties, including fines and jail terms.
At the beginning of December, the president had extended a state of emergency in the country in order to continue imposing restrictions to curb the spread of the virus.
The 90-day extension was declared amid fears that Chile may see a second wave of infections in early 2021.
The country has recorded 583,354 infections and 16,101 deaths to date, according to data from Worldometers.
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