A task force formed by the Mayor and City Council is scheduled to meet and discuss the way forward after three Stabroek Market stall owners tested positive for COVID-19.
Mayor Ubraj Narine, in a telephone interview with Stabroek News said the idea is to host a meeting where they will decide on measures to be taken, as it relates to the way forward regarding the situation in the marketplace.
To the question of closing the gates to the market, Narine said he is unable to do so since he is being guided by the Official Gazette which states that markets are to operate between the hours of 6 am and 5 pm.
However, he assured that the markets are being sanitised daily, as he intends to do everything possible to make it safe for shoppers.
Narine also shared that his aim is to address the matter with Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Nigel Dharamlall in a meeting set for today.
He informed that a press release will be sent out some time later, to inform the vendors on the current situation.
Town Clerk Sherry Jerrick told Stabroek News that the three stall owners who tested positive are in quarantine.
Jerrick previously stated that the council will examine other arrangements in order to mitigate the spread of the virus in the marketplace.
She said that the infected vendors have since ceased operating their stalls, and further informed this newspaper that while most vendors were complying with the face mask requirement, those found without a mask will be charged and required to pay a $5,000 fine.
