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SINGAPORE – TraceTogether, the national contact tracing program, has gained recognition on the international stage for its innovative use of digital technology.
On Monday (December 7), market research firm Gartner crowned TraceTogether the Asia-Pacific winner for its 2020 Government Eye on Innovation award.
The award winners were selected by a survey of government organizations around the world.
TraceTogether beat out three other finalists in Asia-Pacific: two from Taiwan and one from India.
The respective winners for the Americas and the Europe, Middle East and Africa region were a Covid-19 data sharing platform developed by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and an automated financial support platform by the agency. Swedish social insurance company Forsakringskassan Sweden.
“We are honored and grateful for the support we have received from our 3.4 million users, 60 percent of Singapore’s population,” said Jason Bay, TraceTogether team leader and senior director of the Technology Agency of the Government.
“Thank you for taking this community-driven contact tracing journey with us and for supporting the use of Bluetooth mobile technology to contribute to the fight against Covid-19.”
The TraceTogether program comprises a mobile application and a token. Both the app and the token identify those in close contact with people who have tested positive for Covid-19 through the use of proximity data collected through Bluetooth technology.
By the end of this month, registration with the TraceTogether app or the token will be mandatory in public places, including restaurants and shopping centers.
Following an increase in demand in October, the tokens are currently being distributed in one district at a time. At the moment, they are being distributed in 37 community centers and clubs, including Aljunied CC and Bukit Batok CC.
The multi-ministerial task force tackling the pandemic has said that a TraceTogether onboarding rate of 70% among Singapore’s population of 5.7 million people is one of three conditions that must be met for the country to move to phase three of its progressive reopening.
The other two are secure management compliance and sufficient testing capabilities.
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