As of June 4, Singapore has confirmed 36,922 coronavirus cases.
Roslan Rahman / AFP / Getty Images
Singapore announced earlier this month that it plans to launch a portable device to help with this Corona virus Contact tracking. It could be rolled out to the country’s 5.7 million residents by mid-June if it turns out to be effective, according to local media.
“We are developing and will shortly launch a portable handheld device that … does not depend on having a smartphone,” said Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan last Friday. “I think this will be more inclusive and ensure that we are all protected.”
The upcoming portable device marks Singapore’s attempt at an additional method of contact tracking and is coming as the city-state struggles with one of the highest number of cases in Asia after being praised for his “gold standard” response in the early stages of the pandemic.
The news of the portable device that can be carried in a handbag or worn at the end of the lanyard has been criticized by Singaporeans, some of whom have raised concerns about privacy. An online petition entitled “Singapore Says No to Portable Devices for COVID-19 Contact Tracking” received more than 37,400 signatures on Tuesday. The petition continues to highlight the device’s potential to help authorities “track citizens’ movements 24/7”. “This happens regardless of whether the person has a phone or not, regardless of whether the phone is off or on,” it says.
Balakrishnan, who is also responsible for the city-state’s Smart Nation initiative, raised privacy concerns and said on Monday that the device would not have GPS, internet, or cellular connections, which means that it would not be the place where people moved can track.
Singapore published one of the first nationwide contact tracking apps, called TraceTogether, in March. The app uses Bluetooth signals to help authorities determine who has been exposed to patients infected with the coronavirus. But it hasn’t been widely downloaded by Singaporeans and doesn’t work as well on Apple or iOS devices that stop Bluetooth when the app is running in the background. The island nation also has used robot dogs, developed by Boston Dynamicsin a local park to remind visitors to practice appropriate social distancing.
Singapore is not the only one testing wearables for distribution to its residents. South Korea and Hong Kong, places where the corona virus was largely present, have relied on portable devices to enforce their respective quarantines.
As of Monday, Singapore confirmed a total of 38,296 coronavirus cases.