Geylang Serai Market to close for three days after detection of Covid-19 cases
SINGAPORE - The Geylang Serai Market will be closed for three days from Monday (Nov 1) till Wednesday, after Covid-19 cases were detected there over the past seven days.
Fliers posted at the market by the National Environment Agency (NEA) said the venue would be closed to facilitate deep cleaning and disinfection of the premises.
NEA said in a statement on Sunday evening (Oct 31) that it is aware of Covid-19 cases among shopkeepers and other workers at the market and that the closure was decided upon after consulting with the Pasar Geylang Serai Merchants’ Association.
Shopkeepers were left scrambling as rumours of the closure started floating around on social media on Saturday afternoon and were confirmed later the same day.
Third-generation butcher Mohamad Shahid, 32, said many of his neighbouring shopkeepers were looking forward to an uptick in business ahead of the Hindu festival of Deepavali, which falls on Nov 4 this year.
“Many of the shops here are selling mutton, and in this period, they usually get a lot of customers from the Hindu community,” said Mr Shahid.
He added that many shopkeepers bemoaned the closure of the market just days before the festival.
Mr Shahid said there were long queues of customers waiting to enter the market on Sunday morning but that by 1pm, there were no customers to be seen in the market, and many shops had closed.
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