Chilean President Sebastián Piñera was fined $ 3,500 (around 2,850 euros) on Friday after posing for a selfie on the beach without wearing a mask, contrary to the health rules in force in the context of the Covid pandemic -19.
It was the health authorities who reported the information, relayed by the Reuters agency.
Chile has strict rules on wearing masks in all public places and violations are punishable by penalties ranging from simple fines to prison terms.
Not the first time
The president introduced himself to the police.
He explained that he was walking alone along the beach near his home in the Chilean seaside town of Cachagua when a woman recognized him and asked him to pose with her.
Multan a Piñera por no usar mascarilla in selfie https://t.co/x25f0O0cLT
- Hilo Directo (@HiloDirecto) December 19, 2020
Last April, Sebastián Piñera had already been photographed, in Santiago, in the square which had been the scene of protests against inequalities despite the restrictions imposed.
In Chile, the epidemic peaked in May and June, during the southern hemisphere winter, then subsided until November.
Cases are now on the rise again, leading to further restrictions and quarantines.
Chile has recorded 581,135 cases of the virus since the outbreak began in March and 16,051 deaths from the disease.