By Norrasyidah Arshad
SHAH ALAM, April 13 — The Ramadan bazaars operating in Selangor will be under stringent control to curb the emergence of new Covid-19 clusters.
Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said in accordance with the new norm, the number of traders allowed to operate at the bazaar has been reduced to 11,000 from the total 14,000 in 2019.
“Reducing the number of traders is due to the new normal of practising physical distancing between the stalls and to avoid overcrowding.
“The entrance and exit points will also be tightly controlled to avoid close distance between the consumers and traders,” said the Menteri Besar at a media conference after launching the SME Digitalisation Matching Grant, here yesterday.
On April 2, Amirudin had ordered local authorities in the state to monitor the standard operating procedure (SOP) compliance at the Ramadan bazaars to avoid the emergence of a “bazaar cluster”.
The Federal government had on March 16 announced that Ramadan and Aidilfitri bazaar, as well as tarawih prayers, would be allowed to be held nationwide during the fasting month.
The Ramadan bazaars operating hours are from 3om to 8pm, while Aidilfitri bazaars are allowed to run from 10am to 12am.
Last year, physical Ramadan bazaars were cancelled throughout the country due to the Covid-19 pandemic and movement control order restrictions.
