The Phuket City Fresh Market 1 located on Ranong Rd yesterday was ordered closed until Aug 18 and the Downtown Plaza market located across the road was ordered closed until Aug 22.
“The closures are to clean up the markets and to control the infection of COVID-19. With our care, please everyone follow the disease control measures of DMHTTA,” Phuket City Municipality said in its announcements.
“For more information, please contact the Municipality’s Department of Public Health and Environment by calling 076-211570,” the announcement added.
The Phuket City Municipality Fresh Market 1 on Ranong Rd last Friday was ordered closed for one week while mass testing is conducted on all vendors following a spate of COVID-19 infections confirmed at the market. The market was to reopen tomorrow (Aug 11).
The closure was ordered after Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO) Chief Dr Kusak Kukiattikoon last Wednesday (Aug 4) confirmed that 27 people at the market had been confirmed as infected with COVID-19.
The 27 new cases were discovered through proactive screening of over 100 of vendors at the market, Dr Kusak said.
Those 27 cases contributed to Phuket last Tuesday marking what was then a record 65 cases confirmed on one day.
The Phuket City Municipality Fresh Market 2, located behind the Robinson department store on Ong Sim Phai Rd, had been closed for one week over the same concerns, and reopened on Saturday (Aug 7).
While the main fresh markets in Phuket Town remain closed, the Phuket office of the Ministry of Commerce yesterday launched a fleet of mobile market buses to sell household necessities and consumer products at reduced prices at over 120 areas across the island.