When questioned by his very own reporters whether if there are enough face masks for healthcare workers, Trade Minister Chan Chun Sing declined to response. When asked again how many masks are needed each day, the former army general also refused to comment.
The reporter from TodayOnline wrote in their article that the PAP Minister refused to answer several questions pertaining to masks supply:
“Mr Chan declined to reveal the production capacity of the facility or the volume of masks that Singapore requires to prevent any potential disruption to supplies. When asked about the time needed to produce enough masks to fully cater to the needs of healthcare workers, Mr Chan did not want to reveal that as well, except to say that the Government is “confident” in meeting their needs “for quite some time”. When TODAY asked about talk in the past few months that Taiwan’s export ban on masks affected Singapore’s supply, Mr Chan declined to comment.”
Minister Chan Chun Sing insisted that there is enough supply, and claimed Singaporeans can always buy them from local supermarkets:
“The general public’s need for masks will be met through the distribution of reusable masks or through the commercial market, where companies such as supermarkets and pharmacies may bring in their own supplies of masks and sell to residents here.”
The PAP Minister has earlier in February issued a POFMA order on States Times Review over an article that reported the shortage of face masks in public and the excessively-inflated pricing.