KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 — Amid rumours earlier today that all Ramadan bazaars have been ordered to close, the Housing and Local Government Ministry clarified that only 22 are affected.
There are a total of 1,073 Ramadan bazaars nationwide, and only 22 were instructed to cease operations effective tomorrow as they are in high-risk Covid-19 areas.
“Based on the data collected by the Hotspot Identification by Dynamic Engagement (HIDE) system’s report, these bazaars have been identified as high-risk areas which can be a source of spreading Covid-19.
“The HIDE system is aimed at providing an early warning and to prevent an explosion of Covid-19 infections by using the MySejahtera app,” said a ministry statement,
HIDE’s report showed a high number of close contacts among bazaar traders and visitors; and as of April 15 a total of 904 cases have been reported, with a history of visiting the bazaars or becoming infected by those who visited bazaars.
“The bazaars involved will be closed for three days to conduct sanitisation operations and to tighten up the standard operating procedures (SOP).”
Among the bazaars affected are the Pusat Sementara Penjaja/Bazar Ramadan Puncak Jalil in Seri Kembangan, the Bazar Ramadan Stesen LRT Cempaka in Ampang Jaya, and the Bazar Ramadan Taman Setiawangsa and Bazar Iftar Ramadan Jalan Raja Alang in KL.
The rest are four in Johor, three in Kedah, two in Pahang, one in Perak, and eight in Penang.
The number of daily Covid-19 infections across the country inches closer to 4,000, as the Health Ministry recorded 3,788 new cases today. Yesterday saw 3,332 new cases.
This is in comparison to the 941 daily cases recorded on March 29, the first time cases dropped to three digits this year and the first since December 9, 2020, when 959 cases were reported.
