Singapore, July 26: The checking of temperatures at Singapore workplaces, schools, markets and hawker centres was suspended today now that SARS is well under control, the health ministry said. Starting August 1, visitors to hospitals will no longer have their temperatures taken, but staff will be required to continue monitoring themselves.
Temperature screening of departing passengers at the airport, seaports and land checkpoints will also be suspended, the ministry said. Inbound travellers still must go through the fever checks for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.
The precautionary measures on the handling of bodies of those who died of pneumonia will be discontinued on Monday. Under the precautions bodies were placed in double bags in a hermetically sealed coffin and cremated within 24 hours because of concerns that their pneumonia might have masked the highly contagious SARS. Thirty-three people died of the disease in the city-state.
The ministry encouraged students still to check their temperatures before leaving for school. Bureau Report