A man gives his details before entering the Satok Market which was reopened to the public this morning. – Picture by Chimon Upon
KUCHING: The Satok Market is back in business today as there has been no instructions to close it down after a Covid-19 cluster involving its traders was detected, said Kuching North City Commission (DBKU) Mayor Dato Junaidi Reduan.
Contacted today over the market’s reopening after being closed for just a day yesterday for sanitisation, Junaidi said DBKU was waiting for instructions from the Health Ministry and the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) on its closure.
“We just have to give it a few more days. I am sure the Health Ministry and SDMC are monitoring the situation very closely. We will make a decision based on their advice,” he said.
SDMC had announced the Satok market cluster on Tuesday after four of its traders who had undergone screening on July 25 and 26 tested positive for the virus.
Asked why the Satok market remained open when the Stutong market was ordered closed after a cluster was detected there earlier this month, Junaidi said the decision to close Stutong market for 14 days was made by Kuching South City Council (MBKS) which also owned the market.
“Unlike the special situation at Stutong market, DBKU does not own Satok Market but Fama (Federal Agriculture and Marketing Authority) and SEDC (Sarawak Economic Development Corporation) do,” he explained.
The Stutong market cluster was announced by SDMC on July 18 after two positive cases were detected. According to the committee yesterday, there are seven cases so far in the cluster.
Junaidi also pointed out that there has been no new cases in Satok market since the cluster was announced.
As of yesterday, there are 10 active Covid-19 clusters in Sarawak, nine of which are in Kuching and in Bintulu.
Sarawak has accumulated 677 Covid-19 cases including 19 deaths since the virus hit the state in March this year.