The Ministry of Health has begun distributing the TraceTogether token nationwide, from September 14 and this will take place till November.
The TraceTogether token is a contact-tracing device that enables quick tracking of people who have been exposed to COVID-19 cases.
The token exchanges Bluetooth signals with other nearby tokens or mobile phones with the TraceTogether app.
Preparing For Phase 3
Currently, the use of TraceTogether is optional, while SafeEntry by scanning the QR codes to enter establishments is compulsory.
However, using the TraceTogether mobile application or token will be made compulsory for people attending large gatherings and high-risk activities.
Senior Minister of State for Health Dr Janil Puthucheary said on Sunday (October 4) that it will be one of the ways the government encourages the adoption of TraceTogether.
What we will require in order to open up those higher-risk activities is a higher degree of TraceTogether and SafeEntry usage for those activities.
So there will be some activities where in order for you to get in there, you must be either carrying the token or (using) the app, and use SafeEntry to get in.
– Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State for Health, in an interview with TODAYOnline
Earlier, Education Minister Lawrence Wong had announced that the government may be releasing plans to take Singapore through Phase 3 of reopening the economy, in the next few weeks.
Among measures, work-related events are allowed resume and the government is piloting an increase in limit for congregational and other worship services.
Increasing Participation To About 70% Of Population
The government’s target is to get TraceTogether participation up to about 70 per cent, as previously mentioned by Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation initiative Vivian Balakrishnan.
At that time, the app was downloaded around 2.4 million times, which accounts for around 40 per cent of the Singapore population.
Dr Puthucheary said that to date, more than 100,000 tokens have been distributed, and the authorities had to add more collection points to facilitate the process.
However, many Singaporeans question the use of both TraceTogether and SafeEntry.
Dr Puthucheary addresses these concerns on Sunday, stating that SafeEntry tracks “where and how” someone got infected with Covid-19.
On the contrary, TraceTogether can better tell healthcare professionals “who you passed on the infection to.”
If one gets infected with COVID-19, the device will need to be physically handed over to the authorities to extract data needed to do the contact tracing.
Featured Image Credit: Mobihealth News, Vulcan Post
