Temperature Screening No Longer Required at Public Places in Malaysia

Temperature screening in malls and other public places will be finally removed from the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Without specifying a timeframe, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin stated that the decision to drop temperature checks from the SOP’s would be brought to the National Security Council (NSC) meeting so that the National Recovery Plan SOP documents would be revised accordingly.

“After the SOP is revised at the coming (ministerial) quartet meeting, it will no longer be required for premises to provide temperature screenings. It’s adequate to just scan MySejahtera. “

In addition, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization’s Covid-19 technical lead, reportedly said in June 2020 that modeling studies estimated up to 40 per cent of Covid-19 infections could be transmitted by people who are infected but do not show symptoms.

“Apart from that we’ll advise NSC to rid of the logbook so I can assure you that we don’t utilise the book for contact tracing,” Khairy said at a news conference, referring to logbooks supplied at public buildings for visitors to write down their names and contact information upon arrival.”

Although some individuals do not own mobile phones, the government’s MySejahtera contact tracking smartphone app is widely utilised throughout the country, reported CodeBlue.

Khairy further explained that public premises, like shops, restaurants, and malls, are still required to get patrons to check in with MySejahtera, to show their “fully vaccinated” status on the app, and to wear face masks and practise social distancing.

“But when you go to a crowded place, please switch on your MySJ Trace. It’s not compulsory, but we highly recommend it,” he said.

According to recent official statistics, every single adult in the Klang Valley is fully vaccinated, as well as 98 per cent of adults nationwide.

As of now, approximately five million people currently use the MySJ Trace function that allows health officials to observe who was in close proximity to a person who subsequently tests positive for Covid-19 through Bluetooth.