MOH prepared to release stockpile of N95 masks to pharmacies if haze causes shortage - CNA

HAZE SANCTUARIES

Ms Fu also said that she would take up a suggestion, raised by Member of Parliament Yip Hon Weng (PAP-Yio Chu Kang), to establish "haze sanctuaries" at community facilities.

These sanctuaries could be open to senior citizens who do not have N95 masks, air purifiers or air conditioners in their homes, Mr Yip suggested.

Ms Fu said the ministry was considering making residents' committee centres as well as air-conditioned rooms in community centres available to some segments of the population in the event of haze.

MP Liang Eng Hwa (PAP-Bukit Panjang) then asked about the progress of discussions with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Indonesia on transboundary haze.

Haze in the Southeast Asian region due to forest fires in Indonesia has been a perennial problem over the past decades.

Representatives from five ASEAN member states - Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand - met to discuss the issue in June.

Ms Fu said there was general agreement with her ASEAN counterparts about the risk of a drier El Nino setting in for the next few months.

"There's also good discussions about fire detection and monitoring," she said, adding that there was "common intention and objective" to manage forest fires and haze that may arise from them.

"We have a good understanding about the assistance that Singapore would have offered to the countries as well, should the need arise."

The ministers hoped to come to a conclusion leading to the launch of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control later this year, she added.

Ms Fu also said discussions with Indonesia have been positive, and that significant effort has been put in by the Indonesian government on monitoring, regulatory and fire-fighting efforts.

"Of course, we are helped by good weather in the last few years. But this year, again, I think that there's common affirmation of the need to monitor the dry season carefully, and also to act quickly to fight fires."

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2023-07-05 05:22:00Z
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