Coronavirus Singapore

TraceTogether check-in at all wet markets, hawker centres

This will be rolled out in coming weeks to facilitate contract tracing, curb virus transmission

People eating at the 630 Bedok Reservoir Road Market and Food Centre yesterday. Visitors to hawker centres and wet markets will have to check in with their TraceTogether app or token as part of stricter Covid-19 measures. ST PHOTO: TIMOTHY DAVID
People eating at the 630 Bedok Reservoir Road Market and Food Centre yesterday. Visitors to hawker centres and wet markets will have to check in with their TraceTogether app or token as part of stricter Covid-19 measures. ST PHOTO: TIMOTHY DAVID

Visitors to wet markets and hawker centres will be required to check in with their TraceTogether app or token as part of tighter measures to stem Covid-19 infection, which has now spread to 35 markets and food centres.

The cases at those places, linked to the Jurong Fishery Port cluster, continue to rise, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung at a virtual press conference yesterday.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday confirmed 182 new cases of locally transmitted Covid-19 infection.

Of these, 142 are linked to the Jurong Fishery Port cluster, and 14 to the KTV cluster.

"So slightly higher than (Monday). So that's the not-so-good part," Mr Ong said of the overall figure.

But the silver lining is that the rate of growth has slowed and that a higher proportion of new cases would have been isolated before detection, he added.

In the coming weeks, TraceTogether-only SafeEntry and SafeEntry Gateway check-in requirements will be rolled out at all wet markets and hawker centres islandwide to help with contact tracing, MOH said.

The ministry urged all members of the public to comply with the check-in requirements and to carry their TraceTogether token or keep their TraceTogether app active.

"Wet markets and hawker centres are places frequently visited by members of the community and are also where many seniors tend to congregate," it said.

"The potential for transmission is high, given the close proximity between individuals or mask-off activities, as evidenced by the recent clusters detected at these settings."

Thus, there is a need to facilitate quicker contact tracing efforts so that potential transmission at these settings can be curbed, said MOH.

Plans for SafeEntry check-in requirements were initially restricted to just markets with Covid-19 cases.

MOH had said on Sunday that the National Environment Agency and town councils would progressively implement access control with interim fencing and SafeEntry check-in at these markets.

At yesterday's press conference, in response to a question on whether all wet markets will be closed to curb Covid-19 transmission, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said the closure of a market would funnel people towards other markets and cause crowding.

"If we were to close all markets, again, where will people crowd? They may crowd at supermarkets. And if they crowd at supermarkets, will cryptic transmission happen there too?

"So this has always been a challenge we've had with food outlets, particularly markets and supermarkets, because the concern that people may have is that there is going to be a shortage and therefore (they would feel they) must go out and buy."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 21, 2021, with the headline TraceTogether check-in at all wet markets, hawker centres. Subscribe