Safely Enter with SafeEntry!

The use of SafeEntry has been the norm ever since circuit breaker began in Singapore back in March. Here are three reasons on why I think that the developers of SafeEntry deserve a pat on the back!

• SafeEntry makes contact tracing a lot easier for people, and it serves as a history of places visited. The Ministry of Health constantly releases a list of places that infectious COVID-19 patients have visited before they were diagnosed. When the list is released, many people who have been to these places often worry frantically on whether they were at the same place, at the same time, as these infectious individuals. The history function of SingPass’s SafeEntry thus provides a one-stop history tracker – after all, you’re unable to enter a shop or a mall if you do not show your pass!

• The SafeEntry security restrictions ensure that one must be nearby in order to use the GPS location search function. This allows one to be able to begin searching for the place to check-in, even before you reach the place! After months of using SafeEntry, one can still see groups of individuals outside shops, desperately trying to launch their SingPass applications to scan for entry to enter. If you’re nearby, and are walking to the place, you can simply launch the app and get-ready to check-in by selecting your venue via the location searching function. How’s that for simplicity!

• The SafeEntry team continually improves on the functions and features of SafeEntry. Previously, every individual had to have their own SingPass to be able to use SafeEntry or use the conventional “IC-scanning” method to enter a location. However, one of the newer functions, the ability to check-in for others (ideally only family members) has proven to be time-saving and effective. When my family of four goes out for a meal, one of us can just help all four check-in, without worrying about whether each member’s SingPass app is working, or whether there’s data connectivity. It just makes things a lot faster.

The features of SafeEntry are getting better, but many, like myself, still find it a slight hassle to check-in at every single shop one enters. It makes window shopping tiring as the check-in and check-out feature, while fast, still takes time to load.

But for the sake of community health, and our health, let’s all continue to go out responsibly and do our part!