When news of the haze hit town, perhaps your first thought was — I should probably get some N95 masks before all the stores run out of stock.
But your anxieties shall be alleviated.
The Ministry of Health told Channel NewsAsia (CNA) recently that the government has a national stockpile of 16 million N95 masks.
The masks will be released if demand is high and retailers are out of stock.
Earlier in the week on 15 Sep, the Ministry had posted on Facebook assuring Singaporeans that they have plenty of masks in holding in case the haze worsens, but did not give the exact figure.
On Thursday (19 Sep), CNA reports that the Ministry now has a national stockpile of 16 million N95 masks.
They’ll be released as and when it’s necessary.
With flurry of reports about the haze, you should probably already know that the situation’s getting worse.
And even if you don’t read the news, the air will inform you all the same.
The current air quality isn’t swell. A PSI reading above 100 indicates that the air is unhealthy and that we shouldn’t be staying outdoors for too long or engage in strenuous activities.
The foreseeable future does not look very bright. The forest fires in Indonesia continue to rage on. Since Jun, more than 280,000 hectares of forests have been burnt in Indonesia — a size equivalent to 280,000 football fields.
Indonesia is currently doing all that it can to put out the fires. The effort includes deploying over 14,000 firefighter and attempting to cloud seed and water bomb the forest.
Given that the haze have reached unhealthy levels, it would be best to limit your outdoor activities.
If you have to be out for a long time, make sure you put on a mask — especially if you have respiratory problems like asthma.
Hopefully, Indonesia will succeed in quelling the fires and, hopefully, they will put in place stricter measures to prevent the burning of forests so indiscriminately by companies.
Featured images adapted from Google Maps.
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