The largest wholesale market in Ho Chi Minh City has been temporarily closed due to the complicated development of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The People’s Committee in District 8 has ordered the suspension of direct transactions at Binh Dien Wholesale Market from 8:00 am on Tuesday.

The activities will be allowed to resume when the market meets all requirements on pandemic prevention and control.

Merchants are required to move their products out of the venue by 8:00 pm the same day.

They are advised to switch to online sales and have their products delivered to customers during this period.

The management board has been tasked with fumigating the entire market as well as working with the municipal Department of Industry and Trade and District 8 People's Committee to establish suitable epidemic prevention and control measures.

Binh Dien Wholesale Market required all merchants and customers to undergo rapid COVID-19 tests on Monday following the detection of 56 cases linked to the site.

People were only allowed to enter the market if they presented a certificate proving they had tested negative for the novel coronavirus.

However, the plan resulted in the gatherings of large crowds as approximately 14,000 people flocked to the testing site at the venue.

Binh Dien Wholesale Market has about 11,000 laborers and thousands of stalls selling mainly aquacultural products, pork, and vegetables.

Around 2,000 metric tons of products are gathered at the market on a daily basis.

Covering 30 hectares, it is considered the largest wholesale market in Ho Chi Minh City, supplying more than 70 percent of fresh food in the city and neighboring provinces, according to VnExpress.

Ho Chi Minh City has three major wholesale markets, namely Binh Dien, Hoc Mon, and Thu Duc.

Hoc Mon Wholesale Market, located in the namesake district, has been ordered to shut down from June 28 to July 15 over COVID-19.

Vietnam has documented 21,312 COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday morning, with 8,022 recoveries and 94 deaths, according to the health ministry.

The country has recorded 17,871 local infections in 55 provinces and cities since a fresh outbreak began on April 27.

Ho Chi Minh is currently the hardest-hit locality with 6,905 cases.

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