Myat Swe — A spacious and open-air area has been arranged for greengrocers who typically sell their produce in more crowded Sittwe market confines in order to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 contagion, said the local Development Affairs Committee.

The temporary marketplace is located near the Sittwe Myoma market and vendors relocated on April 20, said U Kyaw Moe, director of the Sittwe Township Development Affairs Committee.

“We relocated the marketplace under a recommendation to prevent the virus’s spread. The new location is on a two-acre-wide sandbank and each vendor has three-feet distance,” U Kyaw Moe said.

Not all are happy about their new selling grounds, however. U Maung Hla Kyaw, a vegetable vendor, said the number of buyers is fewer at the new location and he is struggling to earn a living as a result.

“My regular buyers did not appear and I could not sell my vegetables. Additionally, it is too hot at noon. And the wind carries dust here,” he said.

Sittwe’s Development Affairs Committee has urged people to wear facemasks in the market to help prevent the spread of the virus, but on a visit to the site this week, DMG found some sellers and buyers not following the recommendation.