Singapore will begin rolling out its TraceTogether (TT) tokens to the public from September 14, so as to enable more Singapore residents to be protected by the TT Programme.
The Ministry of Health targets to complete the distribution by November, and will start in the Jalan Besar and Tanjong Pagar regions, where there is a higher concentration of elderly who may have more challenges using the TT App and are more vulnerable to Covid-19.
The TT Token will be available for free for all residents in Singapore, and according to Minister-in-Charge of the Smart Nation Initiative Vivian Balakrishnan, can be for people who do not have a smartphone, or prefer not to use a smartphone app.
The token will work in the same way as the Tracetogther app on the smartphone, and Balakrishnan said he hopes for as many people as possible to come on board this programme, whether it is downloading TraceTogether on their smartphones or by using the TT token.
He said “The more people that are actively on TraceTogether, exponentially, the protective effect increases.” TraceTogether, along with SafeEntry has assisted in the quick tracing of Covid-19 cases and the informing of potential close contacts.
Currently, he revealed that the TraceTogether app has been downloaded by about 2.4 million times, but said this was “not sufficient”, as not everyone has the app on all the time, and added the tokens will make it more convenient and accessible for people to have a “failsafe” to protect themselves.
New Service launched to Self-Monitor Health based on SafeEntry Records
Furthermore, a new Self-Check service and SMS service will be introduced from September 10 so that people can be alerted if they have visited the same venues at the same time as COVID-19 cases, based on their own SafeEntry records.
This Self-Check service will be available on the TraceTogether app. Individuals can also access the Self-Check service via SingPass Mobile, and they can access the Self-Check service via SingPass Mobile.
In addition, SMS alerts will be sent to a smaller group of individuals who were at locations assessed to pose a higher risk of transmission at the same time as COVID-19 cases. This includes dining places and gyms where people do not wear masks for extended periods of time.
Balakrishnan reassured that “if you are a close contact, MOH (Ministry of Health) will contact you, but if not, and you’re just concerned, you can subscribe for the service which will notify you whether you happen to be in the same place at the same time, though not necessarily in close proximity.”
