Activist Gilbert Goh and his team on Mon (20 Apr) sent nearly 8,000 surgical masks and 24 bottles of one-litre hand sanitiser to three free public hospitals.
Half of the surgical mask supply was sent to the Singapore Chung Hwa Medical Institution, while 2,200 were sent to the Public Free Clinic Society Tampines. 1,600 were sent to the Singapore Thong Chai Medical Institution.
“Thanks once again to all our donors, suppliers and volunteers for making this public mask distribution a smooth and efficient journey,” said Mr Goh in a Facebook post yesterday.
Mr Goh added that he and his team were unable to gain access to any old folks’ homes for a similar purpose, due to a ban on visitors as a result of the circuit breaker regulations.
The activist also called upon members of the public who wish to contribute to their purchase of surgical masks or to donate additional masks to contact him and his team.
“If you wish to volunteer with us as a delivery driver, please let us know too,” he added.
Previously, Mr Goh and his team on 14 Apr sent 5,000 additional masks for the use of migrant workers residing in the Westlite Woodlands dormitory.
Mr Goh in a Facebook post said that today’s batch makes up the second one delivered by him and his team to the dormitory. They previously sent an initial 5,000 masks in the first batch.
In addition to the second batch of masks, Mr Goh and his team had also sent “some crackers” or snacks for migrant workers living in the dormitory.
According to Mr Goh, he had received several requests for support of masks supply and distribution for migrant workers.
While infectious diseases expert Leong Hoe Nam opined that surgical masks — such as those distributed by Mr Goh and his team at Westlite Woodlands — can be reused for up to four or five days subject to certain conditions, TOC understands that a number of migrant workers only have one mask each which they end up reusing on a daily basis for a longer period.
Doing so may have contributed to the rapid spread of COVID-19 among those residing in dormitories.
Dr Leong also told ST that mask-wearing collectively could possibly quadruple the possibility of preventing transmission of the virus between individuals.
He also urged people to regularly adopt strict physical distancing measures and good personal hygiene in addition to wearing masks.
