Coronavirus Singapore

TraceTogether tokens can be collected from schools soon

By end-March, students who still don't have the tokens can get them from their schools

The school distribution of TraceTogether tokens will be carried out in phases. For students to receive the token from their schools, parents or guardians must use the token request form sent out by schools, said the Education Ministry in an update on
The school distribution of TraceTogether tokens will be carried out in phases. For students to receive the token from their schools, parents or guardians must use the token request form sent out by schools, said the Education Ministry in an update on its website. ST FILE PHOTO

Students here who are still without TraceTogether tokens can collect them from their schools by the end of this month.

According to an update on the Ministry of Education (MOE) website, primary, secondary, junior college and Millennia Institute students who have not collected their tokens from community centres and clubs (CCs) during the national distribution exercise, will be issued one by the end of this month.

The school distribution will be carried out in phases.

"For students to receive the token from the school, parents/ guardians must raise the request through the token request form sent out by schools," it said.

On its website, MOE said that while the TraceTogether app serves the same function as the token and that students can still use the app on their phones, they may not have access to their mobile phones all the time during classes or outdoor activities.

Students are thus encouraged to take their TraceTogether tokens to school instead.

However, MOE said that should a student not have the TraceTogether app, or misplace or forget to take the token to school, he or she will not be denied entry to school.

"Students may still collect their tokens at any of the CCs listed on the TokenGoWhere website if they missed the deadline to request it via their respective schools."

Previously announced MOE guidelines required the use of TraceTogether in schools from Dec 1 last year, with December as the grace period when students' NRICs or student passes could still be scanned.

The ministry then postponed its requirement for students to use either the TraceTogether token or app on their mobile phones for entry to schools, until all tokens had been given out.

The tokens have been distributed to the public at CCs here since September last year.

Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation Initiative Vivian Balakrishnan had first said last December that schools will be distributing the tokens to students so that they will be able to participate in the national contact tracing programme.

The app and token work by exchanging short-distance Bluetooth signals with other apps or tokens nearby. This proximity data is encrypted and stored for 25 days before being automatically deleted.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 08, 2021, with the headline TraceTogether tokens can be collected from schools soon. Subscribe