On 9th May 2020, Mrs. Wullaya Wattanarat, Deputy Permanent Secretary for BMA, had an on-site visit to inspect COVID-19 preventive measures at Chatuchak Weekend Market on its first reopening day after the temporary closed period to prevent the spread of COVID-19 since 22nd March 2020.
Chatuchak Market has currently got 10,334 vendors. The first re-opening phase will only apply for weekend market section, which open from 05.00 – 18.00 hrs. Trade areas at the clock tower and night market section remain closed to comply with the current curfew.
The BMA City Market Office (Chatuchak Market) has prepared preventive measures to control the spread of COVID-19 as follows: screening checkpoints were set up at all six entry/exit gates to the park namely 1) Gate 1 on Kamphaeng Phet 2 Road, 2) Gate 2 on Kamphaeng Phet 3 Road, 3) Gate 3 on Phahon Yothin Road, 4) entrance/exit gate near MRT station, 5) entrance/exit gate next to Mixt Chatuchak Shopping Mall, and 6) entrance/exit gate next to JJ Mall Shopping Center. All vehicles are allowed to entry and exit only at gates number 1 to 3 and walk-in shoppers are allowed to entry and exit at all 6 gates.
At all six screening checkpoints located at entrances and exits, body temperature scanning, alcohol-based hand sanitizers and foot pump wash basins were provided. Vendors and shoppers must wear surgical or fabric face masks before entering the market. The cleaning session of 8 toilets within the market are strictly conducted for every 2 hours.
For food vendors, they must comply with following measures: provide protective plastic barriers for cooked food or prepare food containers with covers and arrange eat-in seating areas with protective screen to keep social distancing of 1-2 meters between seats. All shops must restrict the number of customers to entry as suitable for the premises, for example, small shops may allow only 5 customers in their stalls and larger shops may allow no more than 10 customers.
Non-compliant vendors will be notified and receive a warning letter and if they continue to commit wrongful acts, their shops or stalls will be instantly closed down.
The BMA has decided to waive the rental fee for vendors at Chatuchak Market In order to aid and relieve them from the impact of the spread of COVID-19, starting from March until May 2020.
