KHON KAEN: The Bang Lamphu Khon Kaen fresh market in Muang district was closed for three days on Tuesday after eight people there were found infected with Covid-19.
Market manager Araya Niampradit said on Tuesday that the existence of clusters of infections in Khon Kaen province prompted the market committee to conduct Covid-19 testing there using antigen test kits.
They tested more than 200 vendors and employees at the marketplace.
Eight people tested positive, Ms Araya said.
The market committee sought cooperation from the stalls where people had the virus, asking them to close to prevent the spread of the disease.
The results were forwarded to state offiicials and the infections then double checked with RT-PCR tests, as required by the provincial communicable disease control committee.
The committee had ordered the closure of the marketplace for three days, until Thursday, for a thorough cleaning, she said.
“When we ordered the closure of the market, it was in the evening. Some vendors returned home (on Monday) and were not aware of the closure. We then allowed them to sell their goods until noon today (Tuesday),’’ she said.
Social media rumours that more than 200 people at the market were infected were not true. Only eight people tested positive, Ms Araya said.
She wanted Muang municipality to conduct Covid-19 testing of all vendors and employees at two other markets under its supervision, to prevent the spread of the virus.