Improved reusable face masks: Some questions for Chan Chun Sing

In a Facebook post on Thursday (May 21), Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing announced that the public can collect their improved reusable face masks from Tuesday (May 26) to Monday (June 1).

The masks can be collected from Community Clubs and Residents’ Committee centres between 10 am and 6 pm.

In order to make collection convenient, Mr Chan also announced that from May 26 to June 14, the same can be done 24/7 via vending machines put up in the CCs. “Residents would just need to bring along government-issued identification documents (with barcode) to scan and collect them,” he wrote.

Although many thanked Mr Chan for the masks, some had concerns, such as mask quality, data privacy and vending machine cleanliness.

“The reusable masks are a result of our efforts to continue to build up and improve their quality for Singaporeans,” said Mr Chan. “They were researched, developed and produced by our partners including Ramatex, A*STAR, Ghim Li and Nanyang Technological University.”

Although many took to the comments section of his post to express their gratitude over the Government’s third mask distribution initiative, some had pressing concerns.

A few wanted to know the specifications of the mask, with one person saying “Hope this one will be better than the previous one (very dusty no matter how I wash it or rub it)”.

Previously, Singaporeans had concerns over the masks given out by the Government, as some doubted they would be effective against Covid-19.

Others raised concern over the data that needs to be provided for the collection, with a Facebook user asking whether or not the personal data of residents will be kept private.

Another found an issue with the vending machines, as there would be “too much contact with the machine”.

/TISG