Singapore rules out mandatory installation of contact-tracing app as govt finds glitches

Mobile application to track the spread of COVID-19 in Singapore has now been made optional. According to reports, Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said in the parliament on June 5 that the app called ‘TraceTogether’ does not work well with both Android or iOS devices. The politician who is in charge of the Smart Nation initiative cited the suspension of Bluetooth activity in the devices because of the app running in the background. Therefore, the mandatory use of TraceTogether is now ruled out while the Singapore government is in touch with Apple Inc to find a satisfactory solution to the issues. 

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TraceTogether was launched on March 20 and according to reports, at least 1.5 million residents out of nearly 5.7 million people in the country have already installed the application. The government is now putting up an alternate method for contact-tracing which might involve a portable and wearable device that would not need a smartphone, said Balakrishnan. He also informed that any of them become successful, the equipment will be distributed to every person in Singapore. 

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, most countries have shut down to curb the further spread of the disease, but governments across the world have resorted to a combination of cell phone applications and human contact tracers to track everyone that would increase the control over the situation. Meanwhile, as of June 5, Singapore has reported at least 37,183 cases of coronavirus infections and 24 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University tally.

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Contact tracers in UK

Not only Singapore, but the UK has also stepped up its contact-tracing methods by deploying humans to trace people across the nation who have been close to the coronavirus positive people. The government is "on course" to achieve its set target nad has already hired thousands of people. UK’s lawmaker Michael Gove had said to an international media outlet that the government has almost reached the goal of recruiting 18,000 contact tracers for testing ad tracking program who were scheduled to start their work on May 18 as shops and schools have slowly begun to reopen.

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