BANGKOK, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) reaffirmed on Thursday that boxing matches will remain banned and will resume after the COVID-19 prevention handbook and relevant measures are rolled out by the Thai government.
"We have yet come up with quarantine rules for boxers before and after a match," said SAT governor Kongsak Yodmanee. "Once the COVID-19 prevention handbook is finalized, then it will be distributed to boxing rings and training camps."
Most importantly, the SAT must await a reopening order from the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), Kongsak said.
He added that the CCSA had relaxed restrictions to allow sports training to restart; however boxing stadiums will remain closed.
If any boxing event is organized without the SAT permission, legal actions will be taken against the organizer, Kongsak warned.
The mid-March spike in the nationwide COVID-19 infections stemmed from a mega boxing match held in Bangkok's Lumpini Boxing Stadium.
The CCSA said the March 6 boxing match was attended by as many as 5,000 people, and at least 500 were at risk of contracting the virus.
In early June, the entire board of the Lumpini boxing stadium had been fired, after they were faulted by the Thai Army's investigation committee for failing in their duty to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Enditem
