(Bloomberg) -- Singapore is ruling out the mandatory use of a contact tracing app as a tool to monitor and track the Covid-19 spread in the country, Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said in parliament on Friday.

• The app, named TraceTogether, doesn’t work as well on iOS or Apple devices since they suspends Bluetooth activity while the app runs in the background, Balakrishnan, who’s also Minister-in-charge of the country’s Smart Nation initiative, said.
  • The government has had discussions with Apple Inc on the issue but has yet to find a satisfactory solution.
• The government is working on an alternate contact tracing method which would involve a portable wearable device that doesn’t require a smartphone, he said.
  • If successful, the government will distribute the equipment to everyone in Singapore.
• NOTE: Bankers in Face Shields Are Part of Singapore’s Wary Return (1)

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