On Tuesday (20 Oct), the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Facebook that there was sufficient stock of N95 masks, or their equivalent, at retailers islandwide.
Locals can purchase masks at retailers such as NTUC FairPrice, Guardian, Unity and Watsons.
By the end of the week, masks will be made available at grocery stores such as Cold Storage, Giant and Sheng Siong.
MOH shared they would work to restock masks as quickly as possible. In the meantime, they advised consumers to buy only what they need to avoid wastage or unnecessary shortages in the haze.
People can monitor and receive the latest updates on mask availability by visiting moh.gov.sg/others/haze/.
Source: MOH via Facebook
On 19 Oct, MOH released a Facebook post answering common questions about wearing masks in the haze.
While surgical masks could provide comfort and prevent exposure to larger airborne particles, they were insufficient to protect against fine haze particles.
In the post, MOH also said that cloth masks are discouraged because they do not protect against such particles.
As such, the N95 mask remains the recommended choice for protection in the haze.
The N95 mask has a 95% effectiveness rate in filtering out particles as small as 0.3 microns. Similar variations include N90, valved N90, valved N95, KN90, and KN95 masks.
MOH advised people to wear an N95 or an equivalent mask if they were engaging in outdoor activity for several hours, and when the PM2.5 reading exceeds 250 µg/m³, which breaches the High to Very High range.
The advisory issued by the National Environment Agency (NEA) calls for healthy people to minimise outdoor activities in this range.
Masks can be reused as long as they are kept clean, dry and undamaged.
Source: SG News Warehouse Sale & Events via Facebook
The Guardian branch at Tiong Bahru Plaza instituted a daily limit on mask purchases.
For 3M Face Masks and 3M N95 masks, which contain one piece per pack, customers could only purchase a maximum of five packs.
The purchase limit for the Mannings Guardian brand surgical masks was restricted to two boxes.
Within this range, the child and adult masks have 50 pieces per pack. The blue surgical masks and white three-dimensional face masks contain 10 pieces per pack.
This two-box limit also applies to the AIR+ KN95 mask, which contains five pieces per pack.
As of 21 Oct, Guardian is the only retailer enforcing restrictions on mask purchases. FairPrice, Unity and Watsons have continued normal sales of masks.
In an Instagram post on 20 Oct, FairPrice stated that there were sufficient supplies of Filtering Face Piece 2 (FFP2) masks across FairPrice and Unity chains for customers.
We’re keeping our stores stocked and replenishing supplies as needed, so protective masks remain accessible to those who need them.
Also read: Health Promotion Board releases haze advisory, outdoor events to be cancelled if necessary
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Featured image adapted from FairPrice via Instagram (left) and MOH via Facebook (right).