Dr Tan Cheng Bock advises on precautionary measures against haze

Even though former presidential candidate and general practitioner Tan Cheng Bock has hung up his stethoscope after 50 years in medicine, the doctor in him always offers words of advice.

In light of the haze in Singapore hitting unhealthy levels as PSI exceeds 100 for the first time in 3 years, Dr Tan, Chief of Progress Singapore Party (PSP) advised people to take care of themselves and wear a mask should they be going outdoors during this period. Otherwise, he suggested they stay indoors and be safe.

Dr Tan reminisced about his time as a general practitioner, as he said, “As a doctor, I have seen many such respiratory, nasal, eye and skin problems during the last haze”.

The last time the PSI breached the 100 mark in Singapore was on August 29, 2016, when the 24-hour reading hit 109 in the north. The worst haze episode in Singapore in recent years was in 2015, when rampant forest fires in Indonesia shrouded the region in thick haze for weeks.

In his message, Dr Tan also shared how a PSP event had to be postponed due to the haze.

“My Progress Singapore Party had intended to organise an island wide community event this morning, but because of health concerns arising from the haze, we decided to postpone it”, he shared.

Members of the party were set to meet people throughout the island on Sunday (September 15), but had their event cancelled because of the weather.

In a joint statement by the National Environment Agency and the Ministry of health, they wrote that they were “aware of reports that N95 masks were sold out at some retail stores on Saturday, 14 September 2019”, adding that there was sufficient stock in the warehouses and government stockpiles. The NEA and MOH also expressed that they would be working with retailers to supply these to the retail shops, and “stocks will be available progressively from today (Sunday, 15 September 2019)”. /TISG