Benidorm rules out reopening street markets for the moment

Benidorm City Council discards for the moment and as long as the state of alarm persists, the opening of the municipal market on Wednesdays for food and personal hygiene products, the mayor, Toni Pérez, has said it today, after attending to the instructions and recommendations of the Local Police and municipal technicians. The private market that is installed next to Pueblo Hotel, will not resume its activity, as agreed by the City Council and the responsible company.

As the mayor has indicated, as well as in the report issued by the Local Police, “the needs to buy food and hygiene products are sufficiently guaranteed in all neighborhoods of the city, in shops, where have also been observed scrupulously customer access and hygienic-sanitary measures against COVID-19 to guarantee them”.

In addition, at "a time when mobility is still restricted, the reopening would multiply displacements within the city, as well as the flow of vehicles to Benidorm, since a large part of the vendors in flea markets come from other municipalities of the province". The mayor has also pointed out that "an important part of consumers of the market is in the age range most vulnerable to the disease."

Toni Pérez has also stressed that "the logistics of Mercasa municipal street market and the configuration and dimensions of the venue would require a police reinforcement in the area and it would result in diminishing effectiveness to monitor compliance with the state of alarm."

In addition, to be able to install the market, the drivers of the vehicles parked in Mercasa would be forced to abandon their confinement to move them, "something that collides outright with the recommendation to stay home and avoid leaving to avoid contagions."