Public hails end of temperature checks

 

The public has generally welcomed the government’s move to no longer require body temperature checks as part of the standard operating procedure (SOP) for gaining entry into premises.

However, some have shown reluctance to part with the ubiquitous temperature scanners, the use of which is no longer compulsory beginning yesterday.

Hanim Aziz, 30, from Sentul, Kuala Lumpur said doing away with temperature checks would give customers more convenience when entering a shopping mall.

“Before this, we had to queue to check our temperature. Sometimes we had to line up for very long,” she told Bernama.

A supervisor of a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, Alya Amzari, 27, said the temperature check was irrelevant because not all customers adhered to the SOP when going into the office or business premises.

Redzuan Shah, 22, who works at Omar Bahagia Nasi Ayam restaurant in Keramat, Kuala Lumpur, agreed with the removal of temperature scanning, saying it was not effective in detecting Covid-19 carriers in the current situation.

Mixed feelings

Meanwhile, a full-time worker at FD Mart, Syazamira Yahya, 29, has mixed feelings about the move to discard temperature scanners.

"Temperature check-ins give a sense of comfort for the customer and owner even though the procedure lacks accuracy in detecting Covid-19 carriers," she said.

Sharing her sentiment was Anjung Selera owner Aiman Hafizzudin Jamalludin, 26, who said with the abolition of temperature checks, premise owners could no longer tell whether a customer was having a fever.

Public health expert (epidemiology and biostatistics) of Universiti Putra Malaysia, Associate Professor Dr Malina Osman, said with the current surge in Covid cases, temperature checks are not practical for the purpose of surveillance.

“We need to empower individuals to conduct self-tests to assess whether they are healthy or otherwise. If unhealthy, do not go out and give risk to other people,” she said.

On Feb 8, Senior Minister of Defence Hishammuddin Hussein announced temperature checks and manual recording of personal particulars for entry into premises will be abolished beginning Feb 11.

- Bernama