CORONAVIRUS | The authorities have denied rumours that the Selayang Wholesale Market has been ordered to close over the Covid-19 pandemic.
"There is no instruction for the wholesale market to shut down. That was fake news," Kuala Lumpur mayor Nor Hisham A Dahlan told Malaysiakini in a text message today.
Likewise, Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng refuted the rumours.
"I know about this as I have spoken with the wholesaler association," he said.
They were responding to a voice message which had been circulated through social media. The voice is heard urging people to buy food, claiming that the market will be closed for two weeks beginning tomorrow.
Meanwhile, a notice posted by the Kuala Lumpur Vegetable Wholesaler Association urged members to take precautions and send their staff for health screening.
"The association was told that more than 200 Muslims who hailed from the surrounding area of the market attended a tabligh gathering in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, which took place from Feb 27 to March 1.
"As such, we hope that the workers who participated in the gathering to get tested for Covid-19 or undertake self-quarantine," read the notice sighted by Malaysiakini.
This came as multiple cases of Covid-19 have been linked to participants of the religious gathering in Sri Petaling.
A source close to the association confirmed that the notice was indeed genuine, but no one has been tested positive so far.
He added there was speculation that some of the staff at the wholesale market may have attended the gathering.
"Fear will do no good. We will need to take extra precaution. It will be good if the government brings a team of health officers to conduct medical checks," the source added.
"I noticed only 10 per cent of the wholesalers and workers wear masks," he said.
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