PETALING JAYA: The national coffee shop body is encouraging its 20,000 members to continue with the practice of recording customers’ temperatures despite this not being compulsory from today onwards.

       Malaysia-Singapore Coffeeshop Proprietors Association president Wong Teu Hoon said he preferred coffee shops to continue placing temperature checks at the entrances of their premises.

       “Many coffee shop owners have invested in temperature check equipment since the beginning of the pandemic. If they stop using them, the equipment may be considered wasted.

       “We will leave it at the entrance but it will not be compulsory for customers to use it.

       “It has become a habit for most people to have their temperatures scanned as it has been a practice for the past two years,” he said.

       Wong added that they will do away with the manual registration or log book check-ins at premises.

       “We will ask employees to keep tabs and make sure that customers scan their MySejahtera [app] before coming in.

       “There are a handful of irresponsible customers that do not fill up the log book correctly.

       “So from now, we will make sure that they check in via the MySejah-tera app instead,” he said, adding that many customers are responsible and do not go out if they have any symptoms.

       Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Restaurant Association secretary-general Lyan Tan hoped that the government can provide clear standard operating procedures as soon as possible on the transition from a pandemic to the endemic phase so that restaurant owners can be fully prepared.

       “As more and more people complete their vaccination shots, including their booster jabs, we should focus on economic recovery in the post-pandemic era.

       “Since the outbreak of the pandemic, our members have ensured strict monitoring at the entrance, including temperature scans and MySejahtera check-ins.

       “We will continue keeping temperature scanners at the entrance until further notice,” she said.

       Meanwhile, Restaurant & Bistro Owners Association vice-president Jeremy Lim said starting today, many members of the association will stop the temperature checks and manual registration or log book check-ins at their premises.

       “However, we will continue to check the MySejahtera status of customers and only fully vaccinated individuals, and casual contacts with no symptoms, may continue to dine-in on the premises,” he said.

       Q Bistro owner Riyasutin Moham-med Dulkif has decided to remove the temperature checks at all 13 outlets as more Covid-19 carriers are proving asymptomatic.

       “However, we will keep our equipment in case we will need to use it in the future,” he said.

       On Wednesday, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said that the SOP requiring temperature checks and manual recording of personal particulars for entry into premises will be abolished from Feb 11.

       However, he said checking in with the MySejahtera application is still mandatory.