Covid-19: Ho Ching commends homemade face masks, says “any mask will be better than no masks”

Singapore – Temasek Holdings CEO, Ho Ching, took to Facebook to urge the public not to “pooh pooh” people trying all sorts of protective measures because “any mask will be better than no masks.”

Mdm Ho commended the efforts of Instagrammers and vloggers sharing ideas on how to make Do-It-Yourself facemasks on social media and encouraged others to take heed. “Bravo to the creativity and the spunky efforts to do our bit for ourselves and our friends and family,” said the Facebook power user after sharing a tutorial on how to turn a regular handkerchief into a face mask using only two hair ties, no sewing required.

“We don’t need a hospital-grade surgical mask for general public use, as the chances of meeting a really sick patient are low,” said Mdm Ho and advised the public to save surgical masks for the healthcare workers, “especially since it is likely that we will be seeing a lot of spread around the world, for several months, and we cannot isolate ourselves from the world.”

This is the second time in a week that Mdm Ho posted about refraining from criticising others using different kinds of masks as a safety precaution. “So don’t pooh pooh people trying all sorts of masks, from homemade cloth masks to plastic face shields,” she said.

She reminded the “young folks coming home from abroad” to practice social responsibility in keeping others safe upon arrival. “Do keep a safe distance from others, including old folks at home, until you have been home for at least 14 days,” she added.

Despite previous statements to wear a mask only when ill, Mdm Ho said in her post, “If you feel you want to put on a mask, go ahead.”

Members from the online community were aware that the increasing number of confirmed cases in Singapore, which is currently at 1,000, calls for heightened precautionary measures. However, netizens noted that indicating from the start that masks should only be worn when ill was the wrong approach.

“It’s obvious that community spread is real. Please all mask up when you need to go out,” said Diana Tan and added that it’s time to discard the previous advisory on when to wear face masks.

Mdm Ho replied to one comment regarding surgical masks being used for medical staff and said to “save the singov mask for when we are sick.”

Here’s the tutorial on how to make the no-sew pleated face mask:

Read related:

Covid-19: New rationale as to why we should all wear masks, Ho Ching advocates for these