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SINGAPORE – Long lines formed at Marsiling Community Club as the national distribution of TraceTogether tokens resumed on a limited basis on Thursday (October 29).
Marsiling is the first community center where tokens are available again after distribution was stopped on Wednesday by the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO). The temporary suspension was to make way for a new mode of distribution in which new collection sites will be opened one constituency at a time after reports of long lines at some community centers (CCs) last weekend.
There were already about 100 people in the queue when The Straits Times arrived at the Marsiling Community Club at 9.45am. M. The crowds continued to arrive even at 11.30am.
Five collection counters were set up in one room, with one reserved for the elderly and the disabled. The waiting time for pickup ranged from 30 minutes to one hour.
Several people were under the impression that they only had one day to collect the tokens.
“I came today because I misread the website (Token Go Where) and I thought the indicated date was the only one,” said a resident who wanted to be known only as Madam Tan. “If I had known, I could have come another day.”
Retired Ismail Ibrahim, 57, waited about 45 minutes to collect four tokens for himself and his family.
“Today is the first day (of collection), so people will come,” said the Marsiling resident, who said he prefers the TraceTogether token to the app as he is trying to reduce his phone usage.
Retiree Velaitham Pillai, 78, also stood in line for 45 minutes. “He could have come another day when there were not so many people, but he just wanted to pick up (the token) early,” he said.
The remaining 107 CCs in other districts will be progressively opened for token collection between this month and December. The schedule is available on the Token Go Where website.
Collection at all CCs will continue until the end of the year and is not a one-day affair.
Residents have also been told that they should only collect tokens from the CC of the district they live in.
This means that residents of Marine Parade, for example, can get a token only on December 14, according to the full schedule on the Token Go Where website.
Token distribution initially started in September and had expanded to 38 CC prior to Tuesday’s move.
There was a surge in demand for the tokens after the government announced last week that TraceTogether registrations will be mandatory in all public places by the end of December, including restaurants, workplaces, schools and shopping centers.
Last Saturday, long lines formed at some of the 38 CCs that were distributing tokens, and people had to wait about 45 minutes.
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