MIRI – Sibu Central Market is again on the Covid-19 Hotspot Identification for Dynamic Engagement (HIDE) list issued by the Health Ministry after the detection of Covid-19 cases.
The double-storey premises, which is the biggest wet and dry market in Sarawak, houses about 1,000 stalls selling agricultural produce, meat and fish as well as cooked food and drinks.
Sibu Municipal Council chairman Clarence Ting today said the council has asked the Sibu Divisional Disaster Management Committee to deploy its mobile vaccination bus to the market today and tomorrow to provide walk-in jabs.
“The council is imposing a requirement that everyone who wants to enter any shopping area must have received at least one vaccine shot.
“We are writing to all business operators to instruct them to check customers and traders for their vaccination record before allowing entry,” he said on his social media channels.
Business operators must also obtain certification of their Covid-19 vaccination from the Sibu Municipal Council before they can open for operation.
The decision is part of efforts to reopen the local economy while ensuring health standards in one of the worst-hit areas in Sarawak.
Committee coordinator Dr Annuar Rapaee had said business operators are required to apply for this certification.
“After they have been fully vaccinated, these business operators can apply for certification of their vaccination from the municipal council. This certification must be displayed at the entrance to their shops for the public to see.
“For those business operators and their workers who have not been vaccinated yet, they must do so. They can seek help from the council to arrange for vaccination soonest.”
Many Sibu business premises in April were listed as “high-risk” due to cases detected there.
Sibu Central Market had been ordered to be shut down many times since last year after outbreaks among traders and customers. – The Vibes, August 7, 2021
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