Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee Nguyễn Văn Nên (right) talks to traders at a transshipment point at Bình Điền Wholesale Market in District 8. — Photo baotintuc.vn

HCM CITY — The reopening of wholesale markets in the city requires strict adherence to safety measures, Nguyễn Văn Nên, secretary of the HCM City Party Committee, said on Wednesday after a visit to Bình Điền Wholesale Market, which set up a transhipment station the previous day (September 7).

He praised the efforts of local authorities to develop plans according to various scenarios to ensure safety amid the COVID-19 outbreak in the city.

He expressed sympathy toward market traders who had suffered from more than a two-month closure of the city’s largest food and foodstuff wholesale market. The market was closed in July after dozens of COVID-19 cases were found.

However, Nên said there was no other choice.

“Delay in stamping out the outbreak could have led to serious consequences and created huge challenges in stopping the spread,” he said.

He told local authorities to limit the number of people and vehicles entering the market and ensure that people maintain safe distances between each other.

“If there is a new case, it must be promptly handled to ensure that the virus will not spread to others.”

All people working at the transhipment point at the market must be vaccinated. 

Nên said that traders who have recovered from COVID-19 can return to work at the transshipment point.

He asked local healthcare workers to offer medical examinations and supervision at the market, and police, military and relevant agencies to strictly monitor regulations on pandemic control and prevention.

He urged traders to use online services as much as they can so that buyers and traders do not need to gather in the market.

Phan Thành Tân, director of the Bình Điền market management company, said that traders and workers at the market must have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, have a valid negative COVID-19 test certificate (or take a rapid antigen test at the market’s entry) and complete an electronic health declaration before entering the market.

All people entering the market must comply with social distancing regulations, pandemic prevention and control measures, and the government's 5K message: Khẩu trang (face mask) – Khử khuẩn (disinfection) – Khoảng cách (safe distance) – Không tụ tập (no gathering) – Khai báo y tế (health declaration).

The entire market will be disinfected daily at transit areas.

On the first day of the reopening, 10 traders registered to return to the market and 20 traders the next day. Around 17 tonnes of goods were transported to the market and delivered to customers.

The market managemend board and District 8’s Medical Centre have developed a plan to quickly handle and treat infections if they are found, Tân said.

Bùi Tá Hoàng Vũ, director of the city’s Department of Industry and Trade, said each trader is now allowed to register a maximum of 10 workers in charge of loading and unloading goods, and can sell up to 70 customers. Traders have been encouraged to conduct transactions via mobile phones and the internet to limit contact between traders and customers.

The city plans to launch an e-commerce site that will connect wholesale markets with traditional markets, and provide delivery services from wholesale markets to other traditional markets.

The department will grant travel permits to eligible people working at the market, Vũ said.

Prior to the outbreak, 2,000 traders were working in the market, and 10,000 people, or up to 20,000 at peak periods, visited each day. About 5,000 cars and cargo trucks, as well as about 2,000 three-wheelers, enter the market daily during normal periods. — VNS