Samut Sakhon governor Verasak Vichitsangsri has indicated he might consider staying on as a civil servant if he was made governor of another province.
He tendered his resignation letter to the Interior Ministry on Monday, citing poor health, according to the Samut Sakhon public relations office Facebook page on Tuesday.
Earlier, the high-profile governor said on one of his Facebook accounts that he was thinking of bowing out early, despite having a year left at the Interior Ministry before compulsory retirement at age 60.
He also expressed frustration over bureaucratic red tape hindering efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus disease and the provision of vaccines and testing kits.
On Tuesday, Mr Verasak told reporters he would be willing to continue as a state official if he was deemed useful for the country. However, this was a matter for future consideration.
Mr Verasak was responding to a reporter's question about whether he would change his mind and stay on as a state official if he was shifted to serve as governor in another province. "Let's wait until things become clearer before deciding," he said.
He maintained he was not deterred by hard work, but he had been in poor health since recovering from a severe case of Covid-19 and planned to take early retirement.
Mr Verasak caught national attention and earned much public sympathy last year when he became infected with the virus after Samut Sakhon was identified as the source of the second outbreak. He then spent almost three months in Siriraj Hospital, where he was said to have been unconscious and on respiratory support for more than half the time.
Meanwhile, the rate of coronavirus infections remains high in Samut Sakhon with 1,843 new cases reported yesterday, second only to Bangkok, and 17 more deaths. Bangkok reported 4,397 new cases, Samut Prakan 1,200, and Chon Buri 1,182.
