GEORGE TOWN – The Jalan Kuantan public market here is the latest to reopen after a two-week closure due to the Covid-19 spread, leaving only two still closed.
Traders at the Pulau Tikus market are waiting for their Covid-19 test results while the Tasek Gelugor market has delayed its reopening to October 9.
Housing, Local Government and Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said in a press conference that the Penang Island City Council has closed 33 markets since the start of the pandemic.
“I hope the public and traders understand that we have no choice but to close down markets when there is an infection in the interest of the people.
“The traders in Jalan Kuantan just received their test results yesterday and I am passing out another 250 self-test kits so that they can do their own testing.”
He said that all 78 stalls in the market had to stop operations on September 18, and RM4,500 was spent on tests for traders.
Jagdeep said authorities will monitor and evaluate if the traders will have to perform tests every fortnight. One-third of stalls in the market remain closed as a safety precaution.
Penang health exco Dr Norlela Ariffin said that Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has approved Penang’s request to extend the operations of 10 vaccination centres (PPVs) until October 31.
The 10 PPVs at Tapak Pesta, Dewan Balik Pulau, and SPICE Convention Centre at the southwest district; Dewan Millenium and Perda Convention Centre at Seberang Jaya Utara; Seberang Prai Arena Convention Centre, Tapak Expo Seberang Jaya and Vangohh Hotel at Seberang Prai Tengah; and the Sg Bakap hall and Jawi multipurpose hall at Seberang Prai Tengah will be open for walk-ins starting October 6.
Walk-ins are open for adolescents above 12, some 5,000 registered and unregistered religious school students, those who missed their second dose appointments, and those who have not registered for vaccination or have yet to receive a vaccination appointment.
Meanwhile, Penang's state-federal Covid-19 coordinator Steven Sim said Penang is among the top five states with the highest rate of adolescent vaccination.
“At the current speed, Penang will finish providing the first dose to all 130,000 teenagers in our state in about five days,” Sim said in a Facebook update.
“We started on September 23 and was the state with the lowest teen vaccination rates nationwide. On the first day, we only vaccinated 4,177 teenagers.
“Now, the Health Department has a target of 10,000 teenagers a day.”
As of yesterday, 70.7% of adolescents have received their first vaccine dose, and 1.2% has been fully vaccinated. 66.4% of Penang’s total population has been fully vaccinated, and 79.7% with at least one dose. – The Vibes, October 5, 2021
