TraceTogether-only Safe Entry will be required at all higher-risk venues from Jun 1

From Jun 1, only TraceTogether SafeEntry will be accepted at high risk venues, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Smart Nation and Digital Government Group (SNDGG) announced on Thursday (Apr 22).

These venues include places with a higher throughput of visitors, such as malls, schools and places of worship, or where people are likely to be in close proximity for prolonged periods, such as restaurants and gyms. 

TraceTogether-only SafeEntry will also be required at solemnisations and weddings, funerary events and wakes, pre-schools and student care centres, as well as healthcare facilities.

Individuals can use their TraceTogether app to scan the venue’s QR code, display their TraceTogether token for venue staff members to scan, or tap their app or token at a SafeEntry Gateway device. 

Other modes of SafeEntry, such as the scanning of barcodes using your phone’s camera, use of personal IDs and SingPass mobile app will be discontinued. 

Large retail stores and supermarkets will no longer need to have separate Safe Entry check-ins, as visitors would have already performed TraceTogether-only SafeEntry check-in at the mall entrances. 

Likewise, small retail stores who have voluntarily implemented Safe Entry check-ins should also remove these check-ins for customers’ convenience.

Authorities have also encouraged all TraceTogether app users to have their app updated to the latest version and keep it active in the background at all times. 

Token users should ensure that their tokens have not run out of battery by checking for the blinking green light. 

If the green light turns red or is missing, token users should replace their token at any Community Centre islandwide, or token replacement set up booths at certain malls. The replacement would be free of charge. 

If you still have not downloaded the TraceTogether app or collected your TraceTogether token, you can do so here. 

The joint use of TraceTogether and SafeEntry has reduced the average time taken for contact tracing from four days to less than one and a half days, said authorities.

The SafeEntry and TraceTogether use enable contact tracers to identify and isolate close contacts of COVID-19 cases. 

SafeEntry provides the places where Covid-19 cases have been and TraceTogether shows the people they come in contact with. 

Recently, TraceTogether has helped to identify 75 people who have been placed under quarantine but would not have otherwise been picked up on with manual contact tracing processes. 

“With greater active usage of TraceTogether, the coverage and speed of contact tracing can be further enhanced. This will be most important in venues or settings where community spread is more likely to occur,” the authorities added. 

More than 90 per cent of the population have either downloaded the TraceTogether App and/or collected the TraceTogether Token, said MOH and SNDGG.