MANILA, Philippines – Mandaluyong City’s local government unit has issued a market schedule restriction by designating specific days for residents, according to the first letter of their surnames.
According to a post on Mandaluyong City Public Information’s Facebook page, those whose surname starts with letters A to L can make their market runs every Wednesday, Fridays, and Sundays, while letters M to Z can visit stores every Tuesday, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
Social distancing and the wearing of face masks while within the markets will also be mandatory.
The new regulations will take effect on Friday, April 17. Meanwhile, markets will be closed every Monday for cleaning and sanitation.
The new regulations appear as an attempt to limit the number of people flocking to markets after such situations were observed in Balintawak and Nepa-Q markets in Quezon City, and Blumentritt market in Manila.
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As of now, Luzon and other areas are still under the ECQ due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases. Department of Health officials said that there are now 5,453 infected patients — 349 of which have already died while at least 353 have recovered.
Worldwide, over 1.98 million individuals have been infected, while 126,834 have died from the disease and 484,109 have recovered from it.