Thai king is self-isolating in a luxury hotel with 20 women | Photo Credit: Twitter

There is good coronavirus news, there is bad coronavirus news, and there is downright shocking coronavirus news. This story belongs to the third category.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected over 7.3 lakh people and claimed 34,781 lives. As a result, a large part of the world population is currently under lockdown to prevent large gatherings in public places.

While millions of people are diligently following lockdown and quarantine rules, some have been openly defying them and going about their daily activities without a care in the world. Then there is a category of people who fail to understand the concept of social distancing and self-isolation.

However, Thailand's controversial king has created a category of his own with his idea of self-isolation. According to reports, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, also known as Rama X, has hired out an entire luxury hotel in Germany, where he has been 'self-isolating' with 20 women.

The luxury hotel, called the Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl, is located in the Alpine resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

The 67-year-old king is self-isolating with his entourage that includes a 'harem' of 20 concubines and several servants, reported Bild. However, it is unclear if his four wives are currently living in the same hotel.

All the hotels and guesthouses in the Alpine resort town were ordered to close down due to the coronavirus crisis. But the Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl stayed open because “the guests are a single, homogenous group of people with no fluctuation”, said a spokesperson for the local district council.

According to latest reports, 119 members of the King's entourage have now been sent back to Thailand on suspicions they contracted coronavirus.

The news of the king's luxurious isolation has been met with anger by thousands of Thai people and netizens, who risked breaking the country’s lèse-majesté laws under which anyone who criticises or insults the monarchy could be imprisoned for up to 15 years.