Singapore to give out coronavirus tracing devices called TraceTogether Tokens
- The device will not be used for location tracking, Singapore’s foreign affairs minister said on Monday
- It could be made mandatory depending on the take-up rate
The TraceTogether Token device, which is set to be distributed to everyone in the country, will not be used for location tracking, Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said in a briefing on Monday, addressing concerns that have quickly arisen after news of the government’s plan last week.
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“I want to emphasise: there is no electronic tagging, there is no geolocation tracking,” said Balakrishnan, who’s also minister-in-charge of the country’s Smart Nation initiative.
“This is only purely focused on Bluetooth proximity data, and only used for contact tracing,” he said.
“I’m going to do my best to try to push the participation rates up without having to go down the mandatory route,” Balakrishnan said. The stance may change if the virus circumstances worsen and the health ministry determines there is no other choice.
“That is something we cannot predict at this point in time,” he added.