Yeah, I think there is some confusion - a high fever is definitely a very strong indicator/symptom of COVID (or being sick in general), and that hasn't changed.
The issue that made temp checks minimally effective in a theme park setting is that humans have a huge range of average temperatures. For instance, I run in the 96's usually - if I have a temp of 99+, I'm sick enough to not be able to get out of bed. My husband, on the other hand, runs 99 as an average. It is very hard to have a generic number to say someone is "sick" or not.
Now, they still actually make much better sense in other settings - workplaces, etc., where you go every day. That's because a baseline can be established - you would be comparing your own temp to your own temp. In that case, it is an excellent first indicator of getting sick or not. For some places like this, I actually expect the temp checks to be the last thing go.