The world’s largest weekend market, a prime destination for travelers coming to Thailand, will remain open this weekend despite measures to limit spiraling coronavirus infections.
A representative of the Chatuchak Weekend Market said today that extensive efforts have been made to clean and disinfect the sprawling site where everything from live animals and food to furniture and clothing is sold, which on peak weekends draws more than 100,000 shoppers.
“We know it’s tough, but the market’s team disinfects the market every day,” the admin of the market’s Facebook page wrote in reply to inquiries. “Rest assured that our market is free from the virus, and we’ll fight this together.”
On Tuesday, the government ordered all entertainment venues including bars along with schools, gyms, massage parlors, large events closed or canceled through the end of the month. The order did not include shopping malls, which remain open as well.
Fifty new infections were reported by health officials today, raising the total to 322 since the coronavirus was first detected in the kingdom in early January. Since Sunday, Thailand’s trickle of new cases has surged with dozens of new infections reported daily, many traced to a muay thai stadium and the Bangkok nightlife scene.
Among the new 50 cases were two Thais returned from England, another 18 from the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium cluster, and five more linked to outbreaks at nightlife venues in the Thonglor and Ramkhamhaeng areas.
There were also six more from a recent Muslim gathering in Kuala Lumpur that drew 16,000 people from around the region and has been blamed for fueling outbreaks in multiple countries including Singapore.
