Temasek Foundation To Give Out 50 Surgical & 25 N95 Masks Per Household
Masks have become a mainstay in our lives and since the start of the pandemic, Temasek Foundation has kept us well supplied with free ones.
On Wednesday (4 Aug), Temasek CEO Ho Ching shared in a Facebook post that there will be another mask distribution at the end of the month.
This time, each household can collect 50 surgical masks and 25 N95 masks.
These masks will be effective against the more transmissible Delta variant that has become increasingly prevalent recently.
Surgical & N95 masks to protect against Delta variant
In a Facebook post on Wednesday (4 Aug), Ms Ho explained that the Delta variant is twice as contagious as previous Covid-19 variants.
Each person infected with the Delta variant has an infectivity rate between 5 and 6 others.
To prevent the virus from spreading, masks that are at least 80% effective need to be worn.
Hence, Temasek Foundation will be giving out free masks at the end of this month.
In this upcoming collection exercise, each household can collect 50 medical-grade surgical masks and 25 N95 respirator masks.
Surgical masks offer about 80% protection while N95 masks, up to 95% protection.
Ms Ho added that the N95 masks are provided for better protection under higher risk circumstances such as visiting someone in the hospital, seeing the doctor when unwell, or after a positive antigen rapid test (ART).
Distribution at malls & large supermarkets
The mask collection exercise was originally slated to begin after National Day next week but has been pushed back to allow participating organisations more time to test their systems.
Temasek Foundation is working with Capitalland malls and large supermarkets to facilitate this collection exercise via SP Group utility bills.
Each household representative will be able to make the collection after scanning the bar code on their SP bill.
Ms Ho said that, unlike the oximeter distribution exercise, pharmacies will not be involved in the mask distribution as they do not have enough space for it.
She also reminded the public to bring their own bags when collecting the masks.
This is especially because the boxes of masks are slightly bulky and no bags will be provided by Temasek Foundation.
No distribution exercise on 4 Aug
Ms Ho shared about the mask collection exercise after a banner about mask collection began circulating online.
The banner stated that the collection was happening today (4 Aug) but she explained that this was actually a picture from a pilot trial at a mall.
There is in fact no mask collection exercise going on today for the public.
Kudos to Temasek Foundation
The light at the end of the tunnel seems to be in sight for Singapore but nonetheless, it’s important not to let our guard down.
After all, the nature of the virus is ever-changing and we have seen how dangerous the Delta variant can be.
Kudos to Temasek Foundation for always equipping Singapore residents with the necessary tools to protect themselves.
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Featured image adapted from Temasek Foundation on Facebook.
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