ALOR SETAR – It is difficult to enforce the standard operating procedures (SOPs) at the Ramadan bazaars mainly because the crowds who visit such premises are in a rush to purchase food for the breaking of fast, Kedah Health and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Hayati Othman told journalists here today.
The traders simply cannot ask them to mind their distances from each other as they are in a hurry to buy food on a fast-track basis to go home to break their fast.
He added that many of the patrons of the bazaars are from the working-class community, who can only converge there after office hours, usually from 4pm to 7pm.
As such, the local authorities need to help in this area, by implementing an effective dispersal system for the crowd and to ensure that the SOPs are also complied with, Hayati said.
It is also believed that many people have become traders now in the bazaars after suffering job or income losses as the pandemic has crippled economic activities for the past one year.
“One area which can be improved upon is for traders to separate their stalls from each other and to distribute the food quickly to customers by using ready-made containers,” he said.
The warning to close the Ramadan bazaars which provide all the delicacies and food to break the fast still stands despite the difficulty in enforcing the SOPs.
“If the traders simply disregard the regulations, we have to take action, as it is a matter of safeguarding public healthcare.”
Hayati said that although the situation in Kedah remains at the recovery movement control order (RMCO) stage despite the state picking up new infections, they can be contained if the community works hard to prevent more infections.
“However, the situation is fragile, we can easily slip back into the red zone if we are not careful.”
He warned that a third wave of infections may be deadlier due to the new variants (mutations) of the virus.
There is also a need to generate more awareness campaigns among the community about the virus and the need to reinforce the SOPs and other measures to curb the virus. – The Vibes, April 19, 2021.
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