Hyderabad, June 26 :The largest wholesale market at Begum Bazar here will remain shut for eight days from Sunday in view of the surge in number of COVID-19 cases in recent days and some merchants testing positive, the city Kirana Merchants Association said on Friday.
An emergency executive committee meeting of the association held on Thursday took the decision after it came to light that more than 400 coronavirus cases have so far been reported in the Goshamahal division of the city corporation where the market area is located.
The decision of closing down shops from June 28 to July 5 was taken as a precautionary measure. Some of our member merchants also tested positive of coronavirus. Keeping in view of the safety of our merchants, their family members and customers, we took the decision, association president Laxminarayan Rathi told PTI.
The traders in Begum Bazar and some other wholesale markets have cut down their working hours recently.
The merchants body also issued instructions to its members to go for quarantine if they have any symptoms of COVID-19 and consult health authorities.
Telangana has been witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases for the past several days with 920 people testing positive and five succumbing to the virus on Thursday, taking the tally to 11,364 and the toll to 230.
Telangana BJP MLA Raja Singh, who represents Goshamahal constituency, had on Thursday said so far five of his staff — two drivers and three gunmen — tested positive for coronavirus and the results of five more were awaited.
The state has stepped up testing for COVID-19 manifold and declared 50,000 samples would be screened in the city and neighbouring districts with high case load.
(PTI)
