Six logbooks for contact tracing used within five hours after thousands thronged Jonker Walk

STAR

MELAKA: Six 100-paged hardcover logbooks to register details of visitors were used within five hours after thousands thronged the iconic Jonker Walk night market on Saturday night (July 4).

Jonker Walk's management deputy chairman Datuk Wira Gan Tian Loo said the manual registrations excluded those who registered via the MySejahtera app.

He said the books were covered by names and contact information until even pens dried out of ink.

"Jonker Walk was flooded with more than 11,000 people only on Saturday.

"We had to control their entry after the crowd swelled at about 8pm," he said when interviewed here on Sunday (July 5).

Gan said the authorities had no choice but to deny entry to some, especially those who were above 60-years-old.

"We have six entry points at Jonker Walk and we had to provide new hardcover books to accommodate the huge crowd," he said.

Gan said his volunteers had also monitored and advised the crowd to maintain safety measures.

"We never expected such a crowd and the visitors to the night market were the same numbers that were recorded pre-Covid-19 period," he said.

Melaka had witnessed traffic jams on Saturday and Sunday, a scene that was absent for almost four months since the start of the movement control order (MCO).