Singapore plans a coronavirus contact tracing device for all to wear
Story highlights
The city-state has already developed the first-of-its-kind smartphone app to identify and alert people who have interacted with novel coronavirus carriers, but the app has been beset with glitches.
Singapore plans to soon launch a wearable device for novel coronavirus contact tracing. It says if the device turns out to be successful, it will be distributed to all of its 5.7 million residents.
The city-state has already developed the first-of-its-kind smartphone app to identify and alert people who have interacted with novel coronavirus carriers, but the app has been beset with glitches.
"We are developing and will soon roll out a portable wearable device that will not depend on possession of a smartphone," foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan told parliament on Friday.
The device being developed can be worn on a lanyard or kept in a handbag and will be battery-operated, Balakrishnan said last month in an interview with Sky News Australia.
Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 517 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 36,922.