Khairy: Mandatory temperature checks at premises will be dropped from COVID-19 SOPs

Soon you will no longer be required to undergo a temperature scan before entering a premise. During today’s media briefing, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin revealed that the mandatory temperature screening as part of the COVID-19 SOP will be dropped soon.

He said the proposal will be brought forward to the National Security Council for approval and revision. At the moment, there’s no fixed timeframe for the SOP amendment.

The temperate check was one of the primary requirements for businesses under the current COVID-19 SOP besides requiring users to record their details or scan a MySejahtera QR code. Temperature checks are currently seen as irrelevant as most new COVID-19 cases are asymptomatic. Regular self-testing with COVID-19 self-test kits is seen as a better way to screen for COVID-19 infection.

With the current high vaccination rate and ongoing booster programme, hospital admissions including ICU cases due to COVID-19 in Malaysia have declined significantly. According to COVIDNow, deaths have dropped by 26% in the past 14 days while hospital admissions have declined by 6% in the past 7 days.

As of 19th January, there are 162 active patients in ICU with 76 active patients requiring ventilators. Although the number of new daily cases is hovering around the 3,000 mark, the number of COVID-19 deaths has declined from an average of 300+ deaths per day in August to less than 20 deaths per day in the past week.

Khairy has announced today that COVID-19 vaccinations for kids (5 to 11 years old) will start next month. Parents will be notified about their vaccine appointment starting from 31st January 2022.

[ SOURCE ]

Related reading

• PICKids: Malaysia starts COVID-19 vaccination for children below 12 years old on 3 February
• COVID-19 Vaccine Booster: Senior citizens can walk in starting 19 January at selected PPVs
• Is your MySejahtera “MySJ Trace” showing zero interactions? Here’s how to fix it
• Quarantine for COVID-19 close contacts now reduced from 7 to 5 days if you got booster shot