Coronavirus outbreak: Mary Kom under fire for breaking quarantine protocol
Mary Kom was slammed on social media for coming out of 14-day self-isolation and attending an event hosted by President Ram Nath Kovind. Mary had returned to India from Jordan and was to self-isolated due to coronavirus (COVID-19)
New Delhi: Six-time world champion boxer Mary Kom is in news for wrong reasons after breaking quarantine protocol to attend an event in the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Mary returned to India from Jordan on March 13 and was to be self-isolated for 14 days due to coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. However, she went to Rashtrapati Bhavan on March 18 to attend a breakfast meeting hosted by President Ram Nath Kovind.
Also read: Mary Kom speaks on self-isolation
On Saturday (March 21), Mary confirmed that she attended the event and from on she will stay at home.
“I am home since I came back from Jordan. I only attended the President's event and did not meet BJP MP Dushyant Singh or shake hands with him at all. My quarantine after Jordan ends, but I’m going to be at home only for the next 3-4 days,” Mary told ANI news agency.
In one of the pictures tweeted by the official Twitter handle of President Kovind, Mary came be seen standing along with other MPs. Mary is a Rajya Sabha MP.
There were four pictures and the President’s handle captioned, “President Kovind hosted Members of Parliament from Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan for breakfast at Rashtrapati Bhavan this morning.”
In an interview to PTI news agency she claimed that she is in self-isolation and she was “chilling” at home.
"I am chilling, doing my exercises, taking care of my fitness and playing with my children after being away from them for almost one month," Mary told PTI in an interview.
"That's the best part of this isolation, I am with my family through the day without having to think of anything. My appeal to everyone is don't panic, try and stay at home if you can and spend time with your family," she added.
On the micro-blogging website Twitter, several users slammed Mary for her behaviour. They said she was putting others in jeopardy by not following the quarantine protocol.
As per the health ministry guidelines, those arriving into India from abroad are to be in self-isolation due to coronavirus.
Mary was in Jordan to participate in the Asia-Oceania Olympic qualifiers. She booked a spot for the Tokyo Olympics 2020.