Business and Leisure Wholesale Markets

English عربي हिंदी മലയാളം

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RESTRICTION STATUS

Wholesale markets will remain open with a capacity of up to 30%.
Children under 16 years old are not allowed in.

REGULATE ENTRY

Regulate entry to ensure premises do not become overcrowded and not to exceed the maximum allowed occupancy.
Thermal screening of employees, and customers (entry prohibited for those with a body temperature of 38 degrees or higher).
Ehteraz App to be downloaded by all employees and customers, and check that the status is green to allow entry.
Domestic vehicles allowed at the main market gate only.
A restricted number of trucks & industrial vehicles allowed entrance through different gates and timings.
Regulate entry to ensure premises do not become overcrowded and close off the market entrance when the number of visitors reaches allowed capacity.
Limit number of building entrances & exit (only 2).
Dedicate separated doors for inflow and outflow.
Closure of entrances to the other areas of the market.

PHYSICAL DISTANCING

Keep occupancy of public places/venues, workspaces, businesses, and shops at a minimum space of 9 meters square per person
Keep at least 1.5 meters distance between people.
Increase space between vendors and limit the number of customers who can enter the market at one time based on the visitation rate.
Remind customers of social distancing requirements - Clear and visible signage.
Use floor markings to maintain physical distancing
Make regular announcements to remind customers to follow social distancing advice
The maximum number of salespeople per shop is 2, and for wholesale a maximum of 3.
Signage, stickers, and banners will be displayed in multiple languages.
Staff numbers & retailers should be kept at a minimum (50% of normal level of staffing) to manage the operations.

INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL

Masks to be worn by all staff and customers.
Employees must undergo regular testing as per MOPH guidance.
All regularly touched surfaces should be disinfected frequently using standard disinfection products.
Provision of hand sanitizers in several locations within the market for customers uses such as entrances, halls, toilets, etc.
Retailers should have sanitizer dispensers and surface disinfectants to clean the frequently touched areas.
Managers, staff, and vendors can wear disposable gloves during market operations. However, gloves provide a barrier between hands and produce; however, they can be a source of contamination if not appropriately used and should be replaced as per policy and guidance.
Vendors should not use tablecloths to make it easier to clean and sanitize surfaces. There should be increased cleaning at the start/end of the day.
Markets/vendors can use standard disinfectants as a sanitizing agent. Remind vendors that the virus can stay on surfaces for hours to days, on cardboard for 24 hours, and up to 2-3 days on plastic and stainless steel.
Trolleys will be disinfected/sanitized before and after each use.
Hand washing stations with soap and hand sanitizer should be brought in for customer use.
Public toilets open with strict hygiene measures in place.
Allocate a designated room for isolation to be used in case of suspected cases.
Ensure that the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) is available for each cleaning and disinfectant to provide data on their quality.
Porters over the age of 50 years are not allowed to work during this phase.
Reusable bags should not be used – recyclable paper bags or single-use plastic should be used instead

HANDLING OF PRODUCTS

Minimize the handling of products by employees and customers.
Eliminate samples of products to reduce the risk of contamination.
Discontinue the use of display items that cannot be cleaned and sanitized.
No test products/ reusable samples will be permitted.
Plastic film to cover items to prevent customers from touching them.

AUCTIONS

General measures:

Entrance for local auction and import auction must be separated.
Area for local auction must be separated from area for import auction
Physical barrier between the customers’ lane (public zone) and cashiers & registration agents (work zone) must be created.
To minimize buyers’ crowd, keep 90 minutes break between the starts of the local auction and the import auction (i.e. 05.00am for local auction and 06.30am for import auction)

Auction Operations:

Assign dedicated parking area, time block, and maximum number of farmers.
Assign dedicated parking area, time block, and maximum number of buyers.
Assign time block and maximum number of auctioneers, with a clear offloading and sales operation mechanism.
Assign time block and maximum number for Aswaq staff, with a clear mechanism for registration of offloaded products, offloading inside auction, and support loading (external barrow boys are not allowed)

PAYMENT AND MONEY HANDLING

Markets and vendors should minimize cash transactions and encourage the use of cards for payments.
Clean and disinfect the card payment equipment after each use.

EDUCATION & AWARENESS

Keep employees and customers updated on COVID-19 safety and prevention information and guidelines.
Emphasize that protecting public health is paramount.
Use MOPH health messages and materials.
Let customers know what steps you are taking to keep them safe.

ONLINE ORDERS

Offer to take orders online with delivery or allow pick up

VULNERABLE GROUPS

Make special considerations for vulnerable groups and keep them safe and protected.

COVID-19 Services Assistant خدمة المساعدة الخاصة بكوفيد-19