MOE No Longer Requires TraceTogether for Entry to Schools from 1 Dec; Only Be Enforced Later

Last month, the gahmen announced that checking in with the TraceTogether app or token will be mandatory at all public venues, workplaces, and schools, by the end of December.

They urged Singaporeans to collect their TraceTogether token or download the app.

However, the government seems to have forgotten that they made this announcement to Singaporeans, noted by scientists to be the most kiasu bunch of people on Earth.

If we’re told that we’ll need a certain something before a certain time, you can bet your 24 boxes of face masks that we’re going to panic and rush down to obtain it.

This is why the distribution of TraceTogether tokens had to be momentarily suspended, because of the excessively high demand.

Consequently, the deadline for TraceTogether-only Safe Entry may have to be pushed back.

MOE No Longer Requires TraceTogether for Entry to Schools from 1 Dec; Only Be Enforced Later

The Ministry of Education is no longer requiring students to use the TraceTogether token or app for entry to schools from 1 Dec, according to CNA. 

Instead, the new check-in system will gradually be implemented from that date.

This means that students will not be denied entry if they do not have the TraceTogether app, or have forgotten or misplaced the token.

MOE updated this guideline after a statement was issued by the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office, which said that TraceTogether-only SafeEntry will only be enforced across the country after everyone who needs a token has had an opportunity to collect one.

In the government’s defence, who knew the tokens would be so popular with Singaporeans?

Parents of students with special education needs are encouraged to obtain the TraceTogether token for their child, so that they may use it for school and to enter other public venues.

Progressive Implementation of TraceTogether-only Safe Entry

While it will only be enforced after everyone who needs the token has collected it, TraceTogether-only SafeEntry will be progressively rolled out at popular venues across Singapore by the end of the year.

Residents will no longer be able to check in with SafeEntry by scanning a QR code or their NRIC, or by using the SingPass app.

Instead, they’ll have to scan a SafeEntry QR code using the TraceTogether app, or scan a QR code that comes with each TraceTogether token.

For those of you who aren’t convinced of the app and token’s efficacy, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong recently said that TraceTogether has helped to identify about 25,000 close contacts of Covid-19 cases.

160 of these close contacts ended up testing positive for the virus.

Moreover, according to CNA, TraceTogether-only SafeEntry would reduce the time taken to identify and quarantine a close contact from four days to less than two days on average.

That saves precious time, and prevents potential cases from further spreading the disease.

So, make sure to download the app, or collect the token, if your constituency has resumed distribution.

If we want big parties, leisure travel, and KTV sessions to return, then we need to help the authorities out a little.