By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Sept 2: The markets in 10th Mile Kota Padawan, 7th Mile Kota Sentosa, 3rd Mile Sg Maong, Cat’s Walk Street Market at Kuching City Mall and Taman Desa Wira temporary hawker centre will be closed effective from tomorrow (Sept 3) onwards, until further notice.
Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) chairman Lo Khere Chiang explained that there must have been quite a number of Covid-19 cases reported for the Ministry of Health (MOH) to make such a drastic decision to close the markets.
“The market closure directive came from the MOH.
“It (the Covid-19 situation) must be serious already so the decision to close was called in the interests of the safety and health of the public and community at large,” he told DayakDaily when contacted today.
Lo, who is also Batu Kitang assemblyman, informed that all traders in the five markets have been instructed to get tested for Covid-19.
He also assured that disinfection works for all public markets under MPP jurisdiction have been carried out on a daily basis at the end of the business day.
Noting that the livelihoods of many traders will be adversely affected by the closure, he urged the business community to remain calm as the markets would resume their operations if most traders tested negative.
“This will also give everyone including traders peace of mind and facilitate the resumption of the markets and businesses in a safe environment.
“As such it is very important for all to practice a high standard of hygiene and comply with the standard operating procedures (SOP) to enable the daily lives of the public to go on and economic activities to be sustainable even in these hard times,” he pointed out.
Lo once again advised both the business community and public to not let their guard down yet, despite being fully vaccinated as the emergence of the Covid-19 Delta variant has caused a surge of cases, especially in the greater Kuching area.
“We must be on highest alert to protect ourselves and make sure we don’t get infected because the moment we test positive, see how it has affected everybody else.
“We must not let ourselves fall sick and that’s how we can ensure the markets are safe for everybody,” he urged. — DayakDaily
