TraceTogether tokens or apps may be needed in future, don’t discard them yet: Ong Ye Kung

Ong Ye Kung cautioned people not to get rid of their TraceTogether tokens or apps just yet, as they may be needed in future should the Covid-19 situation worsens.

The Health Minister said in Parliament on Monday (May 9) that “We are taking a cautious, ‘step down but not dismantle’ posture for our public health measures”. Mr Ong was responding to a question by Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin (Ang Mo Kio GRC), who had asked if there will be guidelines developed for the reactivation of TraceTogether and SafeEntry as contact tracing tools.

Calling the current Covid-19 situation “a pandemic crisis with fog of war”, Mr Ong said that despite the public’s want for “transparent and clear triggering points”, it is not possible.

Mr Ong also noted that the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (Dorscon) framework, which is a colour-coded indicator that shows the current disease situation, will be reviewed.

The multi-ministry taskforce on April 22 announced that the Dorscon level would be lowered back to yellow on April 26. A yellow Dorscon level means that the disease is spreading in Singapore, but it is typically mild or contained. It also poses minimal disruption to daily life.

From April 26, Singapore stepped down the use of contact tracing measures TraceTogether and SafeEntry and vaccination-differentiated safe management measures (VDS) were removed from all settings except for events with more than 500 participants at any one time, nightlife establishments where patrons dance, and food & beverage outlets. Authorities also stopped issuing health risk notices (HRN). /TISG