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SINGAPORE – TraceTogether tokens will be distributed nationwide starting next Monday (September 14), beginning in the Jalan Besar and Tanjong Pagar districts, as Singapore steps up its contact tracing efforts.
In announcing this, the minister in charge of the Smart Nation Initiative, Vivian Balakrishnan, said that these areas have a higher proportion of older people who are more vulnerable to Covid-19 and may find it difficult to use the existing TraceTogether app.
The government will also start a pilot program that will require people to use the free TraceTogether tokens or the app to register at certain locations.
Such places could include places where a greater number of people can gather or where masks cannot be worn at all times due to the nature of the activities that take place there.
The pilot arrives as Singapore prepares to allow for larger meetings and conferences with up to 250 participants.
This approach would mean that SafeEntry registration data is supplemented with proximity data from TraceTogether, improving the safety of participants, the Health Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday (September 9).
This could allow for a more secure increase in capacity limits at such events and venues with any possible future easing of the measures, the ministry added.
Said Dr. Balakrishnan: “It is not enough to know who has been in this building in the last hour. You want to know, from this group of people who have been in the building, that they have actually been very close to each other.”
Speaking at a virtual press conference, he highlighted the importance of using the TraceTogether app or tokens, noting that a higher adoption rate makes contact tracing efforts more efficient and effective.
Those who want to check where the TraceTogether tokens will be distributed can go to the TokenGoWhere website for details on the sites and collection times.
People who wish to collect their tokens sooner can visit any of the active collection sites to do so.
The first batch of TraceTogether tokens was delivered to 10,000 seniors starting in June.
A new self-check service will also be launched on Thursday (September 10) and SMS alerts will be sent to inform people who have visited the same places as Covid-19 patients.
This service will be based on your own SafeEntry records and will be available in the TraceTogether app. They can also access the service through SingPass mobile.
In addition to this, SMS alerts will be sent to a smaller group of people who were in locations assessed to represent a higher risk of transmission at the same time as the Covid-19 cases. These include dining venues and gyms.
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