As part of the ‘new norm’ being adapted by society at large today, going out whether to buy food, groceries, or anything else, means being screened for your temperature and of course, writing down your particulars at each shop you visit.
The whole point of this is to ensure that if an outbreak occurs, the authorities can narrow down their search on the affected individuals and contact them immediately for quarantine measures.
But time and time again since the adaptation of this new norm into our lives, many have wondered just how safe it is to be handling the same pen that pretty much everyone uses when they enter the store. After all, there has been studies that show how the Covid-19 coronavirus can survive on some surfaces for days.
Well, in which case, advice from our Health Director-General Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah will definitely come in handy. During his press conference yesterday (29th May 2020), he has advised those who are worried about possible cross-contamination through the use of pens to bring their own, just in case.
“If you have to write, make sure you sanitise your hand and the pen if you are worried about the pen being used by other members of the public. That’s the best way to protect yourself.
This is the advice we can give to the public, to adopt this norm, why not bring your own pen? That is much better,” he said.
This response was given to an inquiry from the media on how sanitary it would be for the public to be sharing pens when recording their details outside storefronts.
However, Dr Noor Hisham has also added that Putrajaya is currently in the midst of looking into a possible solution through the MySejahtera app that will allow the use of contactless QR codes on smart devices that contain all of your particulars, to avoid the need of using a pen and paper system, as Malay Mail reports.
But in the meantime, like the good doctor suggests, if you really are worried about possible cross-contamination, the best solution is to bring your own pen and to make it a habit to sanitise your hands after use. And of course, don’t give out your IC number!
What do you guys think of this?
Also read: Beware: DON’T Give Your IC Number To Restaurants, They Can Only Ask For Name & Phone Number
