Around 1 in 3 students has collected contact tracing token at school
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About 130,000, or roughly one in three, students across primary and secondary schools, junior colleges and the Millennia Institute have collected their TraceTogether tokens from school.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said that schools distributed tokens to them by the end of last month.
They are among the more than 90 per cent of Singapore residents on the TraceTogether programme, laying the foundations for it to be the only means of registering visitors islandwide.
For now, schools are not denying entry to students without TraceTogether tokens or to those who have not downloaded the TraceTogether app.
Previously announced MOE guidelines said TraceTogether would be made mandatory in schools from Dec 1 last year, with December as the grace period during which students could still have their NRIC or student passes scanned instead.
The ministry later postponed the requirement for students to use either the token or app on their mobile phones until all tokens had been given out.
On its website, MOE strongly encourages students to take their TraceTogether token to school instead of relying on the app because they may not have access to their mobile phones during classes or outdoor activities.
It also said that TraceTogether-only SafeEntry will not be implemented in institutes of higher learning or private educational institutes until all students and staff have had a chance to collect a token.
The ministry told ST that students who missed the deadline to request collection of Trace Together tokens via their respective schools can still do so at any of the community centres and clubs listed on token.gowhere.gov.sg
Parents may collect them on behalf of their children.
Damaged or faulty Trace Together tokens can be replaced for free at these locations.
Those who have lost their tokens for the first time can also replace them at no cost.
Both the app and token work by exchanging short-distance Bluetooth signals with nearby users of the token or app to track people exposed to confirmed Covid-19 cases.
This proximity data is encrypted and stored for 25 days before being automatically deleted.
Only when a user tests positive for Covid-19 will the Health Ministry request that Bluetooth data from the device is uploaded to the Government's servers for tracing close contacts.
The app also collects anonymised information about a user's phone and app, such as the phone model and app version, to help the Government improve the app and provide a better user experience.
