COVID-19: Temperature Checks & Log Books Will No Longer Be Mandatory At Public Premises

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Speaking to the media yesterday, 20 January, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the Ministry of Health's (MOH) decision to drop temperature checks from the SOPs will be brought to the National Security Council (MKN) meeting so that the National Recovery Plan SOP documents can be revised.

"The ministry has agreed for temperature checks to be taken out from the existing SOP. After it is amended in the next COVID-19 Quartet Ministerial Meeting, it will no longer be compulsory for premises to have temperature checks. It's sufficient to just scan MySejahtera. No more temperature checks," he said.

"The other thing we will suggest to MKN to do away with is the book because I can tell you we don't use the book for contact tracing," Khairy said during the press conference yesterday.

The logbooks are provided at public premises for visitors to note down their names and contact details.

According to Khairy, the reasoning behind the SOP change is that MOH has found that temperature screenings and the use of logbooks don't have any effect on curbing the spread of COVID-19 infections.

"The advice is that if you are unwell or showed symptoms, don't go out. We don't need to test everyone's temperature anymore. You can be sick and not have COVID-19. It (the temperature checks) doesn't prove that you have COVID-19. I think we have reached the stage where we can do away with it," he added.