At the press conference on May 8, the multi-ministry taskforce for Covid-19 (MTF) shared that workplaces and retailers that are reopening from May 12 have to ensure precautionary measures are put in place.

A list of specific places which are required to use the check-in system SafeEntry will be published soon, the MTF co-chair, Lawrence Wong said.

"By and large, all workplaces, when it's a factory building [or] it's an office building, these will be included. And so, so long as it is a work premise, by and large, they will be covered, and they will be required to be compulsory from the 12th of May, onward, so long as they are open," Wong said.

The SafeEntry system has been made compulsory at supermarkets already.

This will be made compulsory for all malls. Some malls are already using the system.

To ensure no confusion, the respective agencies will be putting out a statement stating all of the categories and the specific branches will be required to have SafeEntry from May 12.

SafeEntry will also be complemented with the TraceTogether app or a device that serves similar function.

This will help to identify close contacts should someone be tested positive for Covid-19 effectively.

"So we've saved entry in place on May 12, with the application being rolled out later, the tool will work hand in hand, so that we have the information we need for effective and fast contact tracing as we progressively reopen the economy," Wong said.

List of facilities or places that must use SafeEntry as of May 9

The Ministry of Health has put up a list of venues that require SafeEntry:

• Workplaces e.g. offices, factories
• Schools and educational institutes
• Pre-schools
• Healthcare facilities e.g. hospitals, clinics, TCM clinics
• Residential care facilities e.g. nursing homes
• Hairdressers/barbers
• Supermarkets
• Selected popular wet markets (Geylang Serai Market, Block 104/105 Yishun Ring Road (Chong Pang Market), Block 20/21 Marsiling Lane, and Block 505 Jurong West Street 52)
• Malls
• Hotels

SafeEntry will also be progressively rolled out to taxis from May 12 to better support contact tracing efforts for street-hail trips.

Commuters will have to scan the QR code and fill in their details on the ride.

Not compulsory for retail and F&B outlets but encouraged to do so

Retail outlets such as pharmacies, convenience stores and heartland provision shops, are encouraged to do so. It is not yet compulsory for these outlets to do so because patrons are unlikely to be in close proximity for a prolonged period of time,

F&B outlets are also not required to implement SafeEntry for now, as they are only open for delivery and/or takeaway.

Retail and F&B outlets must still implement SafeEntry for employees as per all workplaces.

Top images by Jason Fan and Zheng Zhangxin