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SINGAPORE – By the end of December, registering with the TraceTogether app or token will be mandatory at all popular venues, including restaurants, workplaces, schools and shopping malls, as Singapore prepares to enter phase three of its reopening.
It means that members of the public will no longer be able to enter these venues by scanning the SafeEntry QR codes with their phone cameras, or via the SingPass mobile app or the barcodes on their NRIC. SafeEntry is the nation’s mandatory digital registry system at all of these locations.
Instead, they must use the TraceTogether app or the token.
The mandatory use of TraceTogether will begin in theaters, which is one of the places with activities that involve larger groups of people.
Revealing this at a virtual press conference on Tuesday (Oct. 20), the multi-ministerial task force addressing Covid-19 said the measure aims for at least 70 percent of Singapore’s population to participate. in the TraceTogether program, a contact tracing technology to detect people who had been in close proximity to Covid-19 patients.
Having 70 percent of Singapore’s population using TraceTogether is one of the conditions that must be met for Singapore to enter phase three, said Education Minister Lawrence Wong, co-chair of the task force.
“When we have a higher acceptance rate of TT (TraceTogether) and a broader implementation of SafeEntry only for TT … and the community transmission during this period is still low, then there is a good chance that we will enter phase three … by the end of the year, “he said.
[[nid:505967]]Other venues with mandatory TraceTogether registration will also include those with live performances, business events and places of worship with more than 100 people, said Smart Nation and Digital Government Group (SNDGG).
The TraceTogether app includes a SafeEntry QR code scanning feature, while the tokens have a similar QR code.
Mr. Wong noted that only around 2.5 million people, or 45 percent of the population, currently use the TraceTogether app or the token.
“We would like it to be higher, so that TraceTogether is effective,” he said.
Currently, there are 38 community centers that distribute tokens. By the end of November, TraceTogether tokens will be available at all 108 community centers across the island.
The TraceTogether application and the token work by exchanging short-distance Bluetooth signals with other nearby applications or tokens. This proximity data is encrypted and stored for 25 days before being automatically deleted.
Earlier this month, the SNDGG said that more than 100,000 tokens had been collected.
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This article was first published in The times of the strait.
