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Malaysian health officers screen arriving passengers with thermal scanners at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang on January 21, 2020, as authorities increased measure against coronavirus. — Picture by AFP[/caption]
SHAH ALAM, Jan 30 — Chinese nationals entering Malaysia through the Singapore-Johor Causeway are subjected to health screenings following the novel coronavirus outbreak, says the Health Ministry.
However, its Disease Control Division public healthcare specialist Dr Azmi Abdul Rahim said the health checks are only conducted on Chinese citizens due to the limited number of thermal scanners at the entry point, Free Malaysia Today reported.
He said on average about 200,000 people, including Malaysians, use the Causeway daily.
“The number of scanners is limited and the number (of Malaysians using the Causeway) is big.
“We need to prioritise and we are concentrating on Chinese citizens,” he told reporters during a briefing in Putrajaya today.
Azmi said currently there are four thermal scanners at the Causeway and more of such devices are expected to be brought in soon.
Despite the short supply of scanners, Dr Azmi assured that the health authorities are extending the checks to rail passengers.
Azmi was responding to concerns on the lack of checks conducted on Malaysians crossing the Causeway daily to work, stating that everyone will be checked once more thermal scanners were in place.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had on Tuesday has said that his ministry had expedited additional funding for 12 more thermal scanners.
