SINGAPORE (UCAN): The Archdiocese of Singapore is making the use of a government-mandated app compulsory for entering churches to accelerate contact tracing to curb the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2).
With effect from May 17, only the TraceTogether token or app will be accepted for entry into churches while the SafeEntry app or Singpass will no longer be used, the communication office of Archdiocese of Singapore announced on May 14.
The notice is the latest to Catholics in the city-state as part of efforts to tackle the pandemic.
Churches in Singapore suspended services when the pandemic hit the nation in early February 2020 and the government imposed restrictions including a ban on public movement and gatherings.
The Church resumed services on a limited scale in mid-March this year with precautionary measures such as the installation of thermal scanners and thermometers for temperature screening in parishes.
Churches have been cleaned more frequently and the sharing of common items has been reduced alongside a continuous awareness campaign on personal hygiene.
Churchgoers were also strongly advised to wear masks at all times, avoid touching faces, pray at designated locations, not to sing, sanitise hands regularly, not to share prayer items, use non-contact greeting methods and to stay home even if feeling only mildly unwell.
Similar to Hong Kong’s LeaveHomeSafe app, TraceTogether is meant to facilitate community-driven contact tracing for quick identification of persons who may have come into close contact with anyone who has tested positive for Covid-19
Catholics had to register with the MyCatholic.Sg site and have a confirmed slot for Mass to enter churches.
Churches also used SafeEntry and Singpass, two official national digital identification systems, to ensure the safety of churchgoers.
On April 22, the Singaporean government announced that any place where people are likely to be close to each other must use the TraceTogether app without any exceptions. Locations include shopping malls, workplaces, places of worship, schools, educational institutions, restaurants and gyms.
Similar to Hong Kong’s LeaveHomeSafe app, TraceTogether is meant to facilitate community-driven contact tracing for quick identification of persons who may have come into close contact with anyone who has tested positive for Covid-19. It notifies a person quickly if he or she has been exposed to Covid-19 through close contact with other users. It also seeks to allow Singapore’s Ministry of Health to provide timely care and guidance to those infected and those around them.
Data is stored securely on the user’s phone and is automatically deleted after 25 days. It is shared with the health ministry if a person tests positive.
About 90 per cent of Singapore’s population has either downloaded the app or collected an e-token.
Singapore had recorded 61,453 coronavirus cases and 31 deaths as of May 13. A total of 61,029 have recovered, 150 are still in hospital and 243 are in isolation, according to government data.
