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KLANG: Almost all the wholesalers in Pasar Besar Meru, the largest wet and dry market here, have suspended their operations and are self-isolating after several traders tested positive for Covid-19.
Klang Meru Market Traders Association Chairman Ng Soo Keong said the move involved 95% or 114 of the 120 traders in the wholesale section located in Block C of the market complex.
“From our initial knowledge, a fishmonger who had the flu last week had gone for a checkup and it turned out to be Covid-19-positive.
“When the other traders found out about this, some of them also got tested and came back positive,” he said.
According to Klang City Councilor Ngian Yoke Mooi, traders in the wholesale section of the
Mercado became concerned after they found out about the cases there.
“I understand that some were tested, but only a few tested positive.
“But when the other operators found out about this, they became concerned and decided to stop operating as of Wednesday,” he said.
When The Star visited the complex at 9:30 a.m. yesterday, the place was devoid of its usual throng of shoppers, restaurateurs and small merchants who buy their daily provisions there.
Ngian said the council would send a team to disinfect the market today.
The Klang district health department is known to be conducting an investigation before deciding whether to test all traders outside the complex, totaling about 3,000 people, including foreign workers, for Covid-19.
The source of the infection has not been determined.
The department and Klang City Council will meet with market management this weekend to discuss the next course of action.
During the period of conditional motion control orders, the operating hours of Pasar Besar Meru, located on the main avenue of Jalan Meru here, is from 6 am to noon for the daily market in Block B, while the wholesale section it is open from 4 am to 10 am
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