THE resumption of the Roxas Night Market in Davao City might not be possible anytime soon, even if the city is now under Alert Level 2, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said.
The mayor said in a radio interview on Monday, November 15, that the opening of the night market might cause mass gathering, which is vulnerable to the transmission of coronavirus.
"Roxas Night Market man gud, ang assessment (The Roxas Night Market, based on our assessment) is that once we open that, it will create mass gathering tungod kay ang mga tao, naghinam-hinam na kung asa sila musuroy, asa sila muadto (because people right now are looking for places to visit for leisure)," the mayor said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
The mayor, however, said the private sector is still allowed to organize their own food and other bazaars.
"This is something we are parking as of the moment because as I said, dili namo gusto nga maggikan sa city government kaning (we do not want that the city government will be cause) mass gatherings... [ug] mga activities nga (and activities that are) superspreader . So we leave it first dinha sa (to our) private sectors nga buhaton, ablihan base sa (to conduct and open it based on the provisions of the) Alert Level 2," she said.
The city is also not keen on opening city-owned properties such as parks and libraries.
The proposal of the opening of the night market comes as the city continues to experience a downtrend of Covid-19 active cases, resulting in the city being placed under Alert Level 2. Davao City is under Alert Level 2 from November 15 to 30, 2021.
Prior to the mayor’s pronouncement, she said the City Economic Enterprise had conducted a study on the opening of the night market.
The Roxas Night Market was temporarily suspended when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in mid-March 2020. The night market was gradually opened in September last year, but was suspended again after a month when the city experienced a surge of cases.