By Ben Garcia
KUWAIT: Vendors at the Friday Market in Rai were busy making preparations yesterday for its reopening today. On March 13, the Municipality closed the market as a precautionary measure to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Yesterday, Kuwait Times witnessed workers unloading goods and setting up displays. The Friday Market is popular with people looking for used items and cheap goods.
Like before, the Friday Market is open from Thursday morning until Saturday evening. However, it will now operate from 10 am to 6 pm because of the 8 pm curfew. Sellers are only allowed to bring their goods on Wednesday afternoon, and all products unsold by Saturday must be removed and the market cleaned.
"From tomorrow, everything here will be back to normal," said an official at the Friday Market who spoke to Kuwait Times on the condition of anonymity. "We will strictly observe the health ministry's directives on health protocols. Even now we have two personnel checking the temperature of anyone who enters the market. We do not want the virus to spread in the market," he added, urging customers to always wear masks and gloves.