Sellers and other personnel working in bazaars, pop-up stores, “tiangges” or flea markets, and other seasonal markets in the National Capital Region (NCR) are now required to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

The Metro Manila Council (MMC), composed of the 17 mayors in NCR and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), on Thursday released MMDA resolution No. 21-27, series of 2021 to establish the “unified standards and guidelines on the conduct of Christmas bazaars, tiangges, and pop-up stores” in the region.

The resolution requires all “traders, salespersons, exhibitors, organizers, and other personnel” of these establishments to be fully vaccinated before the conduct of their business to the public.

With the coming Christmas season, it said such establishments expected to mushroom, noting that the personnel of these seasonal businesses often come from different parts of the country, making contract tracing “highly difficult.”

Another reason for the requirement, it said, was that bazaars, tiangges, and pop-up stores were considered to have significantly contributed to a polio outbreak back in September 2019.

“In order to guard against exposure to and/or infection with the Covid-19 virus similar to the September 2019 polio outbreak, there is a need to require all traders, salespersons, exhibitors, organizers, and other personnel to be fully vaccinated,” the resolution read.

On Nov. 5, 2021, the NCR was placed under Alert Level 2, allowing more businesses to resume operation including seasonal markets. (PNA)