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In a statement on Tuesday, 8 February, Senior Minister (Defence) Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the government has decided to remove the COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) that have been in place since two years ago.
However, he stressed that checking in with MySejahtera is still mandatory at all premises.
“If the owners of premises wish to continue temperature checks and maintain record books for check-ins, the government welcomes and encourages it,” he said.
The decision comes after a late January announcement by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who said that Malaysia will remove the requirement of temperature checks at public premises as it is not an effective measure to control COVID-19.
“Although the number of daily cases continues to increase, the number of hospitalisation and cases warded at intensive care units remains low,” he said, according to Free Malaysia Today.
The Senior Minister said this shows the country’s health system is under control and the next step is to safely reopen towards living with COVID-19.
Hishammuddin added that after two years of the pandemic, the country needed to move forward and any further restrictions would no longer be a good decision.
He said, however, that no date has been set for the country to transition to the endemic phase yet.