The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is now asking residents of Bangkok, including the migrant workers’ community, who have recently visited the shrimp market linked to a new COVID-19 outbreak in Samut Sakhon, to perform a self-assessment online to help determine if they need to be tested, while health officials have screened some 30 migrant workers at Bon Marche market in Chatuchak as a precautionary measure.
The screening process involves a questionnaire asking about symptoms of fever, headache, coughs, or a runny nose, as well as contact history with any COVID-19 patient. From this process, one migrant worker undergoing the screening has been put under close monitoring, because of his recent contact with a friend in Mahachai, Samut Sakhon.
Refuting a rumor about a worker who tested positive to COVID-19, Bon Marche’s marketing advisor Somchai Pisitkulsunthorn said today the market has never identified a COVID-19 positive worker, as the market requires all vendors to report any employment of migrant workers in order to verify their documents.
He confirmed that the market does not employ any illegal migrant workers, and can quickly contact their employees in cases of emergency.
Mr Somchai said the market currently employs 38 migrant workers, who have all been screened before being re-employed. The market requires all its vendors and employees to wear a face covering at all times, with all visitors screened for their temperature on entry. Hand sanitizers are provided throughout the market, with all tables and chairs cleaned with sanitizers regularly. Food vendors are now required to use only market-provided containers and utensils, which are always sterilized with heat before use.
Meanwhile, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is now urging Bangkok residents, including migrant workers, who have visited the shrimp market in Samut Sakhon since 1st December to perform a self-assessment screening on bkkcovid19.bangkok.go.th.
This online tool will help determine their risk factor, and allow a test to be arranged for those determined to be at risk. For more information, call the City Hall’s Department of Health on 02 2457597, 094 3860051. (NNT)
