San Juan to rehabilitate Agora market

SAN JUAN, Philippines  — The San Juan City government will rehabilitate the Agora public market, which was shut down on Wednesday after a vendor tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Mayor Francis Zamora said yesterday.

“Before the COVID-19, the three-month rehabilitation project of the Agora market was ready. This market is really old, it has seen the reign of many local administrations already and we want to fix this market,” he said.

The market is being disinfected and would be closed until the test results of all 644 vendors and employees have been returned.

The infected vendor has been undergoing treatment and isolation while his 14 contacts – composed mainly of family members and other vendors – have been tested.

Zamora said the incident could mean it is the right time for the public market’s rehabilitation for it to be more compliant with health and safety protocols, as well as with the “new normal.”

“The market is old, dimly lit, dirty and not fully adapted for COVID-19 precautionary measures. Once we rehabilitate this establishment, we can assure residents of 100 percent compliance with the new normal in terms of how markets are set up,” the mayor said.

Should the rehabilitation push through, Zamora said the vendors would temporarily be holding their stalls at the Plaza ng Masa, a wide open area that currently serves as a parking space.

As of July 1, San Juan has recorded at least 396 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 46 deaths and 290 recoveries.