HONOLULU -- The governor answered questions on Friday about a shortage of health inspectors in reaction to video of a rat-infested produce stand at a Chinatown market.

A health inspector returned to the stand on Friday and gave it a clean bill of health just a week after rats were caught on video scampering over fruit and vegetables ready for sale to the public.

The Internet video is the buzz of the town. It seems as though everyone is talking about the story of the Chinatown rats. Some merchants said business has fallen off drastically because of it.

All of the concern about rats in Chinatown did not seem to deter restaurants, galleries and other stores as they prepared for the First Friday event.

However, many merchants are concerned about the after-effects of the video shot by a community activist, showing large rats scurrying around a Kekaulike produce market.

A state health inspector reinspected the market stall, two days after citing the store for rat droppings and other violations. The store's owner showed KITV the health inspection form, which found all violations had been corrected.

Because of budget cuts and hiring freezes, there are only nine health inspectors on Oahu. Reporters asked Gov. Linda Lingle if the rat incident proves the need for more inspectors.

"No, I see a need for the community to police their own establishments. It's in their interest, I mean, they're the ones whose livelihood is going to be seriously impacted, as I'm certain it has already, since this video has been shown," Lingle said.

The Department of Health plans to meet with Kekaulike Market's private pest control operator to double-check it is doing enough to eradicate rats.

"I think they're going to need to invest money to keep the vermin out of their stores and then they're going to have to convince the public that that's true. Government can never have enough inspectors, even if we had the money, which we don't," Lingle said.

Meantime, other storeowners at the produce market said business has fallen off sharply since the rat stories broke.

"Business like today is very, very bad. I mean, ever since the segment came out of the rats -- I mean, business been downhill. It's worse than 9-11 now," You Market owner Paul Min said.

Shoppers like Rosio Perez said she goes to Min's store because he scrubs his floor daily and keeps things clean.

"In my opinion, I came to the cleanest place in Chinatown," Perez said.

The state Health Department said Pacing's Market, where the rat violations happened, will not be fined. The owners would face fines of up to $1,000 a day per violation if they were unable or unwilling to correct violations.