COVID: MOH to remove thermal scanning from mandatory SOPs - Khairy

KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry (MOH) has agreed to remove the mandatory use of thermal scanners to scan body temperatures from the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of COVID-19 risk control nationwide, soon, said its Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

Therefore, he said, only the MySejahtera QR code scan is required every time one enters the premises.

"We will bring efforts to improve the SOPs to the National Security Council (MKN) meeting; after it is amended at the next COVID-19 Quartet Ministers Meeting, it (thermal scanner) will no longer be mandatory," he said at a press conference at the Parliament Building here today.

Meanwhile, Khairy also announced that the quarantine period for travellers who had received booster doses will be shortened to five days from the previous seven days, effective Jan 24.

He said travellers would have to undergo a COVID-19 RT-PCR test, conducted two days before the departure date, with a negative result.

"The COVID-19 RT-PCR test will be performed on the day of arrival at the international entry points; release from quarantine is on the fifth day if a COVID19 RT-PCR test on the fourth day, or an RTK-Ag test supervised by a health worker on the fifth day, is negative," he said.

Khairy said for travellers who have not received a booster dose but have been fully vaccinated, the quarantine period is seven days, while for travellers who have not or have not been fully vaccinated, the quarantine period is 10 days.

He added that travellers would be given a digital home surveillance order and no longer be fitted with regular surveillance bracelets.

However, for travellers from high-risk countries who undergo quarantine at home, they will be given digital surveillance bracelets, he said, adding that the quarantine period for children is according to the period of accompanying parents or guardians.

Elaborating on the development of cases of clinics issuing fake vaccination certificates, Khairy said all the cases detected were at paid or private vaccination premises and not under the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK).

"These people were found to have bought the vaccine but did not use it; instead they discarded the vaccine. The police are still investigating and the MOH will fully cooperate.

"We will tighten the SOPs so that this case does not happen again outside the government programme," he said.

Asked about the booster dose, Khairy said MOH still currently maintain that vaccine recipients aged 60 and above and Sinovac vaccine recipients aged 18 and above should get a booster dose by February to maintain their complete vaccination status.

Meanwhile, for groups other than the above, the MOH has not planned to make the booster dose a mandatory condition for complete vaccination status, he said.

-- BERNAMA