KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 — Raja Bot market traders and their workers will undergo a Covid-19 screening and have their swab samples taken today.
According to authorities on the ground, today’s screening will also be conducted for family members of traders and workers and also the public who visited the market before the market was ordered to close for 14 days.
“Collectively, more than a thousand people are expected to turn up for the screening and have their swab samples taken.
“One session was conducted last Thursday, so this will be for those who didn’t manage to do it last week.
“Some also want to do the test again since it has been a week. Anything could have happened in that time as the market was still in operation,” said the Armed Forces personnel on the ground.
The Raja Bot market is the third market within a week that was ordered to cease operations to make way for sanitisation works and screening and swab tests conducted for market traders and their workers.
Prior to the Raja Bot market closure, medical officers from the Health Ministry had conducted a Covid-19 screening at the PKNS Kampung Baru flats.
The building was placed under tighter security after one of its residents tested positive for the virus on April 11.
According to news reports, so far, 23 cases have been detected at the 17-storey complex.
On April 17, more than 600 Kampung Baru residents did the compulsory Covid-19 screening following the classification of the area as one of the red zones.
When met at the market vicinity, a resident who resides in the market’s vicinity said over a thousand traders and workers run the Raja Bot market, otherwise known as Pasar Chow Kit, daily.
“Several screening and swab tests were conducted previously.
“But because we were informed that there were reports of cases in the market after these tests were taken (two weeks ago), they have decided to shut the market to conduct tests for all traders and those who visited the market last week (before the market was ordered to shut),” said the Kampung Baru resident, who requested anonymity when met at the market vicinity.
Prior to Raja Bot market’s closure, two markets in Petaling Jaya — Taman Megah market and Jalan Othman wet market — too were shut for disinfection and screening exercises.
Covid-19 cases in these markets are said to be linked to the Kuala Lumpur wholesale market which has seen 28 positive cases reported.
Housing areas in the vicinity of the Kuala Lumpur wholesale market have since been placed under lockdown until May 3.
