SINGAPORE (June 8): Good contact tracing is “absolutely essential” to curb the spread of Covid-19 infections, identify patients quickly and isolate them thereafter, said Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation initiative Vivian Balakrishnan on Monday.
This way, authorities are better able to take appropriate precautions to prevent a further spread of the coronavirus.
“For everyone who is not yet a patient, it is in our own interest to know quickly and early whether any of us have had close exposure to a patient who is Covid-19 positive,” Balakrishnan pointed out at press conference by the Covid-19 multi-ministry taskforce.
With peak viral load occurring early in the course of the disease, he stressed the need to identify both patients and their close contacts as soon as possible. “I can’t emphasise enough the need for quick information, and this is where digital tools come in,” he elaborated.
In this vein, the government is developing TraceTogether tokens - or wearable contact tracing devices – to capture proximity data using Bluetooth technology.
The electronic device will have the same function as the TraceTogether app rolled out previously, and serves to reach out particularly to those who do not have mobile phones.
To-date, Balakrishnan notes that over 1.8 million or a quarter of Singapore’s population have downloaded the TraceTogether app.
While 25% is a good number, he says it is not good enough as the efficacy of the app correlates to the number of active users on it.
Even so, he notes that the app has cut down the time taken for contact tracing considerably from two to three days, to less than a day, at present. This is as it takes less time to reconstruct a Covid-19 patients’ activities.
The TraceTogether tokens are believed to further reduce this time frame. They are slated to be rolled out in the later half of this month.
Balakrishnan went on provide assurance that the privacy of users will not be compromised.
“So here’s what I need to emphasise, and repeatedly emphasise – it is not a tracking device. It is not an electronic tag, as some Internet commentaries have fretted about. In particular, and here to be technical, there is no GPS chip on the device. There isn’t even any Internet or mobile connectivity”.
Since the device cannot track users’ location, Balakrishnan stressed that it cannot track their location or movement. “Data never leaves the device or the phone. It is encrypted. It is stored for up to 25 days and automatically deleted,” he added.
The data will only be extracted by the Ministry of Health (MOH) if an individual contracts the coronavirus. Even then, “only a very limited restricted team of contact tracers” will have access to the data to enable them to reconstruct the patients’ activities and identify the interactions he/she had.
“It's worth emphasising that there isn't one big, giant centralised database. In fact, the data is decentralised and encrypted on phones and on devices, and only uploaded, if it is positive,” said Balakrishnan.
“Remember, ultimately, the real test of the pudding is whether we can shorten the time from identification of a patient or close contact to isolation, bring down the effective reproduction number of this epidemic, and also reassure people that we are getting the balance right between protecting public health, and protecting personal privacy," he emphasised.
“I believe it is possible to protect both, and we're going to do so in a manner which is open and transparent.”
A phase 2 soon?
A speedier curb of the coronavirus infections translates to a quicker reopening of Singapore. A week on from the start of phase one of the republic’s reopening, the taskforce said that while there has been an increase in the number of daily cases in the community, they are within expectations.
As at 12pm on Monday, there were 386 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore, bringing the total case count here to 38,296. Two of the cases occurred within the community, while the vast majority of the remaining cases are amongst work permit holders residing in dormitories.
Speaking at the Covid-19 taskforce briefing, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong stressed that precautions and safeguards must be continued to keep community transmission low.
“Some people ask, 'But, I am going to work and I already see many people on public transport. So, if that is the case, why can’t we relax the measures for me to see more of my family and friends?' I understand why these comparisons are made, but I think we need to better understand that the settings and risks are very different.”
The difference – elaborated Wong – is that public transport journeys are transient risks, since they are not long. Conversely, social meetings bring higher risks through conversations, interactions and having meals together.
“We appeal to everyone in Singapore that our mindset should not be to exploit each and every rule to the fullest possible degree, but really to understand the spirit of the regulations and to continue to uphold the precautions – stay home wherever possible, minimise contacts to the largest extent possible," he reiterated.
