Sebastián Piñera condemned himself after walking so …

Chilean President Sebastián Piñera filed a complaint against himself with health authorities after walking without a mask on a beach, a mandatory measure in a country experiencing a worrying increase in coronavirus cases. “After being recognized by the people who were there, various photographs were requested which he accessed without realizing the need to use the mask,” a brief government statement said.

For failing to comply with measures dictated by his own executive, Piñera could face a fine of up to 2.5 million Chilean pesos (approximately $ 3,350) according to the Chilean Sanitary Code. Faced with a complex context due to the sudden advance of the coronavirus, Santiago will return to quarantine over the weekend.

Like many Santiago residents who took advantage of the long weekend, Piñera went to a paradisiacal beach located about 160 km from the capital. The president walked through the exclusive resort of Cachagua without covering his face with the chinstrap, a measure he himself imposed as mandatory to avoid coronavirus infections.

During his long walk, Piñera took photos with citizens who quickly uploaded the images to social media, which generated a strong repudiation in the trans-Andean country. “Yesterday I went for a walk on the beach, which I haven’t done since last year. The walk was pretty lonely until some people recognized me and asked for a photo“said Piñera.

“Without a doubt, I should have put on the mask, but due to how quickly the events happened, I didn’t. and it was a mistake that I regret and I apologize “, posted the president in an Instagram story. To resolve the reprehensible situation, Piñera submitted a self-report to the Regional Ministerial Secretariat” with the aim of carrying out the corresponding administrative health control procedure “.

Special legislation focused on preventing the contagion of the coronavirus establishes that in beach areas the distance should be at least one meter between people, five between groups and you can only be without a mask “when do not move and are two or more meters away from other people, ”which the Conservative president did not accomplish.

Meanwhile, the Chilean capital will enter quarantine on weekends as a preventive measure against a sharp 18% increase in coronavirus cases in the metropolitan area last week. The measure also prohibits mobility between regions, and to go out on weekends you will need to apply for a special permit.

Chile reported 1,760 new covid-19 infections on Monday, bringing the total to 562,142 sixth in Latin America for confirmed cases. In addition, 35 new deaths were recorded, for which there are already 15,663 deaths.