KUALA LUMPUR: People will no longer be allowed to enter shops by writing their names down in a book, senior minister for security Ismail Sabri Yaakob has announced.
Instead, it is mandatory for people to have the MySejahtera application on their phones, except in areas where the internet is not readily available.
In a press conference, he said it was found that customers did not write down their names and telephone numbers properly, making contact tracing efforts difficult.
“This is effective immediately. However, exemptions will be given in areas that do not have internet coverage, especially villages and interiors,” he said.
The government mandated the use of the contract tracing app for all businesses nationwide last August, with Ismail stating that the move would help the health ministry detect those exposed to Covid-19 patients.
Launched on April 20 last year, the MySejahtera app had about 24.5 million users as of December, according to the health ministry.
Securing between 20,000 and 30,000 daily downloads and an average of 17 million check-ins a day, the official said the app is used by around 70% of the country’s population.
Last month, health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said Covid-19 patients awaiting a call from the health ministry can now report themselves through the MySejahtera app. He said this in response to complaints over delays faced by those who had tested positive but had yet to be taken to hospitals.
Meanwhile, Ismail said 745 people were arrested by the police yesterday over movement control order-related offences. He said 701 of them were fined, 41 remanded and three granted bail.
Most of the offences, he said, were for failing to maintain physical distancing (156).
Among the other offences were travelling across districts or states without permission (151), failing to wear face mask (129), and failing to provide materials for contact tracing or registration (112).
Meanwhile, a total of 3,147 compliance task force teams were deployed to conduct checks on 22,851 supermarkets, restaurants, hawker stalls, factories, banks, government offices, as well as land, water and air transport terminals.
The authorities also detained three undocumented migrants as part of the ongoing Op Benteng campaign. They also confiscated six vehicles.
Ismail said 111,927 people who arrived through KLIA were screened for Covid-19 between July 24 and Feb 8 and were placed under quarantine.
Some 510 tested positive and were sent to hospitals for treatment, while 106,017 were allowed to return home.
Some 6,241 people are currently undergoing mandatory quarantine.- FMT