TraceTogether Token Collection Expanded To 18 CCs In AMK, Bishan, Toa Payoh & Sengkang
While Singapore’s daily Covid-19 case count has been falling, we’re set to gradually open up the country to normal activities.
However, precautions must be taken to contain any possible spread of the virus, and SafeEntry has already been established as a necessary inconvenience to bear.
TraceTogether tokens are now set to further boost contact tracing efforts, and the Government is in the process of expanding its distribution to more people.
Residents of Jalan Besar and Tanjong Pagar were the 1st to get them from 14 Sep. Now it’s the turn of those in Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Toa Payoh and Sengkang as the distribution exercise spreads to 18 community centres (CCs) in these areas.
The tokens will also be given out at mobile booths set up in malls over the coming weekends, to make them easier to collect.
Token distribution expanded to 18 CCs
In a press release on Sunday (4 Sep), the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO) said more than 100,000 TraceTogether tokens had been distributed in Jalan Besar and Tanjong Pagar.
The distribution will now be expanded to 18 CCs in central and north-eastern Singapore — namely, Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Toa Payoh and Sengkang.
Residents in these areas can collect them from these CCs:
Most of the CCs are open from 10am to 6pm, excluding public holidays.
However, if you don’t live in these areas, you can still head to these CCs to collect the token early.
Mobile booths will be set up in malls
However, if you can’t make it to the CCs in the daytime, there’s another collection option — heading to the mall.
To make it more convenient for the public to collect their tokens, SNDGO has set up mobile booths to distribute the tokens in popular malls across Singapore like Bugis Junction, Westgate and Tampines Mall.
The first booths opened in malls over the weekend starting from Friday (2 Oct).
Here’s a list of malls where the booths will be set up over the next few weekends, starting from Saturday (10 Oct):
TraceTogether will be compulsory to attend high-risk activities
On Sunday (4 Oct), Dr Janil Puthucheary, who is Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information & Health, was at Bedok Mall to oversee the token collection there.
At the event, he told TODAY Online that the use of TraceTogether will be made compulsory if you’re attending a high-risk event like a large gathering.
This is whether you’re using it in token form or the mobile app.
And this would be on top of already using SafeEntry.
More TraceTogether, SafeEntry usage needed to open further
Dr Puthucheary was quoted by TODAY as saying that a “higher degree of TraceTogether and SafeEntry usage” would be needed if these higher-risk activities are going to be opened up, adding,
There will be some activities where in order for you to get in there, you must be either carrying the token or (using) the app, and use SafeEntry to get in.
Why must use TraceTogether if we’re already using SafeEntry?
Dr Puthucheary, who is also Minister-in-charge of the Government Technology Agency of Singapore, was also asked why the public has to use TraceTogether when we’re already using SafeEntry.
He said SafeEntry is necessary to find out where an infected person got infected.
TraceTogether, on the other hand, is better for finding out who the infected person could have passed the virus to.
According to the SNDGO, TraceTogether has also reduced the time for contact tracing.
While it usually takes 4 days to identify and quarantine a close contact of an infected person, TraceTogether allows this time to be cut to an average of less than 2 days.
If the infected person can’t remember his close contacts, or doesn’t know who they are, TraceTogether can also help identify them.
TraceTogether essential to the new normal
While TraceTogether is still optional at the moment, if you’re intending to take part in high-risk activities with a large number of people, it would be wise to collect a token or install the app.
If not, you might not be able to go about your life easily in this new normal.
Do visit the TokenGoWhere website for more information on where the token can be collected, including the opening hours and locations of CCs and mobile booths.
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Featured images adapted from Facebook and Facebook.
