Daily Briefing: Wearable TraceTogether tokens to be rolled out in June; Safeguards needed before travel between Singapore and Malaysia can resume

And 3DInfra raises pre-series A from SEEDS, M Venture.

From Channel News Asia:

The first batch of the contact tracing devices, or TraceTogether tokens, will be delivered in the second half of June, according to Minister-in-Charge of the Smart Nation initiative Vivian Balakrishnan. They will operate and function “exactly the same way” the TraceTogether app does on a smartphone.

Like the TraceTogether app, the device only captures Bluetooth proximity data.

The data will only be used by the Ministry of Health (MOH) if an individual is diagnosed with COVID-19, and “only a very limited restricted team of contact tracers” will have access to the data to reconstruct an activity map to identify the full range of interactions that the patient might have had.

The ability to quickly identify COVID-19 cases and those whom they were in close contact with has become even more crucial now that the "circuit breaker" has been lifted, Dr Balakrishnan added.

Read more here. 

From Channel News Asia:

Measures, safeguards and precautions have to be put in place before travel can resume between Singapore and Malaysia, said National Development Minister Lawrence Wong.

Wong, who co-chairs the COVID-19 multi-ministry task force, was responding to media queries after Putrajaya said that talks are under way to allow Malaysians in Johor Bahru to commute to Singapore and back for work.

Wong said that negotiations with Malaysia were part of ongoing discussions with different countries.

Before such travel can resume, testing may have to be carried out, a quarantine period may have to be imposed, or a combination of both measures, he added.

“The same principle will apply, we will welcome these travellers. We want to see the resumption of travel, but it has to be done in a safe way. And that would mean looking at testing protocols in place on both sides,” he said.

Read more here. 

From e27:

Metal printing startup 3DInfra has raised an undisclosed sum in pre-series A funding from MAS-licensed M Venture Partners and Enterprise Singapore’s investment arm SEEDS Capital, according to an announcement.

The company said that the funding will be directed into driving 3D Metalforge’s technology development, establishing an Additive Manufacturing Center in Houston, Texas, and team development.

The company claimed that its Additive Manufacturing Center in Singapore is ISO-certified and is one of only 7 manufacturers globally certified by Lloyds Register to print marine parts.

According to Mena FN, the company is currently serving clients in the oil & gas, marine, and defense sectors, 3D Metalforge focusses on large format, high-value specialist metals for industry application. It leverages proprietary design processes and metal printer technologies that produce specialist parts faster, cheaper, and of higher quality than traditional manufacturing.

Read more here.