Press releases
TraceTogether-Only SafeEntry To Start From 1 June 2021; Only TraceTogether App Or Token Will Be Accepted For SafeEntry Check-In
22 April 2021
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TraceTogether-Only SafeEntry To Start From 1 June 2021; Only TraceTogether App Or Token Will Be Accepted For SafeEntry Check-In
22 Apr 2021
From 1 June 2021, TraceTogether-only SafeEntry (TT-only SE) will be implemented at all venues that experience higher throughput of visitors, and/or where people are likely to be in close proximity for prolonged periods. These include shopping malls, workplaces, places of worship, schools and educational institutions.
Importance of TT and SE
The TT Programme and SE are important digital tools that enable contact tracers to quickly identify and isolate close contacts of COVID-19 cases. This helps to break transmission chains and prevent community outbreaks as more activities resume. While TT data identifies an initial list of close contacts, SE data provides the list of places visited by COVID-19 cases to help our contact tracers establish cluster links.
The combined use of these digital tools has enabled us to reduce the average time taken to contact trace from 4 days to less than 1.5 days. More recently, TT has helped to identify 75 persons who had to be placed under quarantine, but would likely not have been picked up through a manual contact tracing process. This has been important in ensuring that the impact of any local cases detected were immediately contained, with very little further spread in the community. With greater active usage of TT, the coverage and speed of contact tracing can be further enhanced. This will be most important in venues or settings where community spread is most likely to occur.
To date, more than 90% of the population have either downloaded the TT App and/or collected the TT Token. Therefore, from 1 June 2021, TT-only SE will be implemented nationwide. This means that SE check-in must be performed using a TT App or Token by:
using one’s TT App to scan the venue’s QR code;
displaying one’s TT Token so that a venue staff can scan the TT Token’s QR code;
tapping one’s TT App or TT Token at a SafeEntry Gateway device.
Other modes of SE check-in such as launching your phone’s camera to scan a venue’s QR code, using Singpass App, and scanning of barcodes on personal IDs, will be discontinued from 1 June 2021.
More Convenient Check-ins
With the implementation of TT-only SE, we will remove the existing requirement for SE check-ins at large retail stores and supermarkets located inside a mall. This is because all visitors would have already performed TT-only SE check-in at the mall entrances, and the interactions at these venues within the malls are generally more transient. Small retail stores (e.g. pharmacies, convenience stores and heartland provision shops) that were not required to implement SE for customers, but have voluntarily done so, should also remove their SE check-ins to increase convenience for their patrons.
Essentially, TT-only SE check-ins will only be required in venues with a high throughput of people (e.g. malls, workplaces, places of worship, schools and educational institutions), as well as higher-risk venues where people are likely to be in close proximity for prolonged periods (e.g. dine-in food and beverage outlets and gyms).
The full list of TT-only SE venues can be found in Annex A and on the SE website. To facilitate SE check-in with the TT Token, venue operators should download the SafeEntry (Business) App or set up the SafeEntry Gateway Box. More information on how venue operators can apply for the SafeEntry Gateway Box is available on the SE website.
Updating of TT App and TT Token Battery Replacement
As effective contact tracing requires the active usage of the TT App and Token, TT App users should ensure that their App is updated to the latest version, turn on their Bluetooth, and keep the App active in the background; whereas Token users should ensure that their Token has not run out of battery and always have the Token with them when they leave home.
TT Token users can check if their Token is working by looking out for a green light that blinks about once every minute. If the Token is blinking red, or if there is no light at all, users should replace their Token at any Community Club/Centre (CC), or at Token replacement booths set up at selected malls. Those who have not collected the Token can also do so at any CC islandwide. More information can be found on the TokenGoWhere website.
By actively participating in the TT Programme and using SE, we can each play our part to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and keep Singapore safe. The Government will continue to improve the user experience of the TT Programme and SE, and adjust the approach to keep digital contact tracing effective as the public health situation evolves.
Annexes
For media enquiries, please contact:
Chia Suat Ning (Ms)
Manager, Public and International Communications
Smart Nation and Digital Government Office, Prime Minister’s Office
Tel: 8182 8052
Email: chia_suat_ning@pmo.gov.sg
Goh Yu Chong (Mr)
Assistant Director, Public and International Communications
Smart Nation and Digital Government Office, Prime Minister’s Office
Tel: 9644 1674
Email: goh_yu_chong@pmo.gov.sg