CHATUCHAK MARKET REOPENS
Cautious return by shoppers, but tenants go rent-free
>>Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok yesterday reopened to shoppers amid strict social-distancing measures, while vendors saw their rents waived for three months.
The reopening is limited to daytrading only while the night market remains closed to comply with the current curfew, according to Deputy City Clerk Wanlaya Watthanarat.
Yesterday, 10,334 vendors were allowed to trade between 5am and 8pm, although only about half set up stall again.
Ms Wanlaya said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will not collect rents for March, April and May. “We will try as much as we can do to help these vendors,” she told the media during a press trip to mark the reopening yesterday.
Screening checkpoints were set up at all six entry gates to the park and visitors had their temperature scanned and were given hand sanitiser to apply.
However, the hustle and bustle of the market had yet to fully return with estimates putting the number of shoppers at 2,000 — around half of a normal Sunday.
Ms Wanlaya said vendors are required to comply with stringent measures to guard against Covid-19 transmission.
Small shops must limit the number of shoppers in their stalls to five, while larger vendors can admit up to 10 people.
Food shops must install plastic screens between tables and provide a 1-2 metre distance between customers. The stalls are also required to clean their areas with disinfectant every two hours. At meat and seafood stalls, shoppers are not allowed to touch the products.
“Non-compliant vendors will receive a warning first and if they fail to adhere to public sanitary measures and social distancing practices, they will be banned from trading here,” Ms Wanlaya told the media.
The market, a popular outdoor shopping venue among Thai and foreign tourists, has been closed since late March when the government issued an emergency decree to stem the spread of Covid-19. However, with new cases in decline, authorities agreed to partially lift the lockdown last week, allowing six business types, including markets and restaurants to open again.