300 Shops Shut In Delhi's Azadpur Mandi After COVID-19 Death

Nearly 300 shops are shut in Azadpur Mandi in Delhi, Asia's biggest wholesale market for fruits and vegetables, after a trader died of coronavirus. Traders have demanded that the government scale up COVID-19 testing in the sprawling marketplace spread over nearly 100 acres.

The decision to shut down a section of the market was taken after two new cases emerged on Wednesday.

Azadpur is a huge worry for the authorities in the fight against the highly contagious coronavirus, with close to 2,800 tightly packed shops employing thousands of people and drawing several more.

After a 57-year-old trader died, 17 people who came in contact with him have been tested. One is his nephew and the rest are his employees.

The trader had tested positive for the virus on Monday after his sample was collected on April 14. He died on Tuesday.

Surveillance teams are tracing more contacts of the trader, said North Delhi District Magistrate Deepak Shinde.

The Delhi government had decided to allow Azadpur Mandi to operate round the clock in an attempt to protect farmers and traders hit hard by the nationwide lockdown and keep prices of vegetables down.

The government said vegetables and fruits could be sold from 6 am to 10 pm and trucks could enter the market between 10 pm and 6 am.

The administration also said only 1,000 people can enter the market at a time, for the sake of social distancing.

Delhi has 2,376 coronavirus cases, including 50 deaths.

Across the country, there are 23,077 cases of COVID-19, with more than 700 deaths.