The Namaka market

The opening hours for the municipal markets have been revised to ensure vendors are able to comply with the curfew.

Local Government Minister Premila Kumar says markets across the country will now open at 8am.

She adds a lot of vendors travel from far in the wee hours of the morning and the decision was made after consultation with the Special Administrators.

BUSINESS HOUSES DISCUSS CURFEW ARRANGEMENTS@FijiAG & @PremilaKumarMP met with members of the private sector to ensure that there is business continuity while the #FijianGovernment enforces #COVID19 preventative measures. pic.twitter.com/jHDyaTr9Z2

— Fijian Government (@FijianGovt) March 28, 2020

Kumar has also highlighted that Fijians are not taking the social distancing advisories seriously when marketing and they have taken steps to solve this.

“To avoid this overcrowding at the market we have made the decision to decentralize the markets. We will now put up tents with the vendors in different areas. In the neighbourhoods as well as in the cities and towns”.

The Minister is urging the general public to change certain behaviour amidst the COVID-19 outbreak.

“I would like to urge the public that we normally follow the routine. And our routine is on a Saturday we get up in the morning and we go to the market and normally on a Saturday say 6 o’clock till about 11 o’clock a lot of people are there”. 

The Ministry is currently working on the logistics and will roll out the scheme as soon as practicable.

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