Thumbs up to abolition of temperature checks at premises

KUALA LUMPUR: The public has generally welcomed the government’s move to abolish 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, whose use is no longer compulsory beginning Friday (Feb 11).

Hanim Aziz, 30, from Sentul, 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 very long,” she told Bernama.

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

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

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, premises owners could no longer tell whether a customer was having fever.

Public health expert (epidemiology and biostatistics) of Universiti Putra Malaysia, Associate Professor Dr Malina Osman, said with the current phenomenon and surge in Covid-19 cases, temperature checks are not practical for the purpose of surveillance.

"Here 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 risks to other people,” she said.

On Feb 8, Defence MInister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein announced that temperature checks and manual recording of personal particulars for entry into premises would be abolished beginning Feb 11.- Bernama