Visitors to the popular Sibu Central Market will need to show proof of vaccination from Aug 1 onwards before being permitted to enter the premises.
SIBU (July 27): Only those who have been vaccinated for Covid-19 will be allowed to enter Sibu Central Market effective Aug 1, said Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) Councillor Albert Tiang.
He said that the council would implement this policy starting Aug 1 and visitors will need to show proof of vaccination before being allowed into the premises.
“Effective from Aug 1, visitors to Sibu Central Market will need to show proof of vaccination such as digital certificate from MySejahtera App or manual card at any of the five entrances to the premises.
“We only recognise two types of vaccination certificates — the hardcopy (card) or digital certificate inside MySejahtera. No photocopies or photo (screenshot) will be accepted,” Tiang disclosed to The Borneo Post tonight.
He said that the decision to implement this policy was made after a council meeting on Monday.
Tiang further explained that the Sibu Central Market was given the priority for this policy as it was listed as one of the premises in the Ministry of Health’s Hotspot Identification for Dynamic Engagement (HIDE) system.
He also said that if there were any individuals having issues with their vaccination certificate, they could get in touch with the Health Ministry or Divisional Health Office here.
“The policy to only allow vaccinated individuals may be gradually extended to other outskirt markets in the future.
“Visitors to the Sibu Central Market will also need to scan the MySejahtera QR code to check-in as well as have their temperature taken,” Tiang said.
Following the request from Sibu Divisional Disaster Management Committee (SDDMC), Tiang reminded visitors to merchandise stalls or lock-up stalls at Level One of the Sibu Central Market to also register their location check-in via MySejahtera.
“To ensure consistency, council will get all hawkers of food and drink stalls at Level One of the Sibu Central Market to print out the MySejahtera QR code and display it in front of their stalls for visitors to scan,” Tiang said.
He said there are about 1,119 hawkers in the central market but only half are operating at the premises at any one time as they still operate on alternate days.
According to Tiang, the number of visitors is gradually returning to normal, with the average for weekdays over the past few months numbering about 3,000 people in the premises including hawkers.
The number of people in the premises can reach between 7,000 and 10,000 during weekends, he observed.