TraceTogether check-ins to be made compulsory at public venues by year end

The multi-ministry task force tackling Covid-19 announced on Tuesday (Oct 20) that by end-December checking in with the TraceTogether app or token will be mandatory at all public venues.

At a virtual press conference, the task force announced that members of the public will no longer be able to gain entry to these places by scanning SafeEntry QR codes with their phone cameras, or through the SingPass mobile app or barcodes on their NRIC.

It added that mandatory use of TraceTogether will start at cinemas.

Education Minister Lawrence Wong, co-chair of the task force announced that having 70 per cent of Singapore’s population using TraceTogether is one of the conditions that has to be met for Singapore to enter phase three.

Making the use of TraceTogether mandatory would be a step towards Singapore entering phase three.

Mr Wong said that at present, only about 2.5 million people, or 45 per cent of the population, are using either the TraceTogether app or token.

“We would like that to be higher, for TraceTogether to be effective,” he said, according to a Straits Times report.

“When we have both a higher take-up rate of TT (TraceTogether) and wider deployment of TT-only SafeEntry… and community transmission throughout this period remains low, then there is a good chance of us entering phase three… by the end of the year,” he said, according to the Straits Times report. /TISG