Smooth for some, frustrating for others as N95 mask distribution gets underway amid haze in Singapore

Some residents faced long queues, stock shortages and confusion over collection procedures, while others were able to get their N95 masks with little fuss.

A long queue to collect N95 masks from a vending machine at Clementi Bus Interchange while a staff member topped up the machine, Oct 15, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Alyssa Tan)

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SINGAPORE: When Ms Nancy Lim arrived at Bishan Community Centre at noon on Thursday (Oct 15) to collect her N95 masks, she was greeted by a sign saying that stocks had run out.

The 64-year-old had called ahead, but was told that staff could not guarantee the availability of masks.

"I thought they'd prepare more, considering the collection was supposed to run from 10am until 6pm,” the part-time clinic assistant told CNA.

She eventually managed to collect her masks about half an hour later, when fresh supplies were wheeled into the air-conditioned hall.

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A vending machine holding 500 masks was set up at Clementi Bus Interchange on Oct 14, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Charmaine Jacob)

Ms Lim was among some residents who faced hiccups as N95 masks were progressively made available at designated collection points across Singapore – with long queues and confusion at some locations and temporary stock shortages at others.

But experiences varied across the country, with collection proceeding smoothly at other locations, where residents were able to get their masks quickly and with little fuss.

SMOOTH SAILING AT SOME COLLECTION POINTS

CNA visited six distribution points on Thursday – four vending machine locations and two community centres – and observed both smooth collections and teething problems.

At Cheng San Community Club in Ang Mo Kio, for instance, residents waited less than two minutes to collect their masks when CNA visited at about 11.30am. Sample masks were also available for residents to compare against their faces to determine the appropriate size.

Retiree Jenny Tan, 72, who lives opposite the community club, had collected masks for herself and her husband.

"I just walked to the counter and got the masks … after my friend told me to come here. It's more than enough because we're both staying home as much as possible to avoid the haze," she said.

Other residents were grateful to receive the masks, particularly as supplies were low elsewhere.

Ms Lucy Lee, 76, who works for a charity, said her daughter had tried buying masks from pharmacies and online but found them sold out.

“I'm glad that at least I managed to get two. I hope they'll give out to others soon," she said.

STOCK SHORTAGES, VENDING MACHINE HICCUPS

However, teething problems were observed at several other collection points, ranging from technical difficulties with vending machines to confusion over eligibility and collection procedures.

At Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange, staff had to disperse crowds of seniors at about 11am after one of two vending machines ran out of masks. The other was stocked but not operational.

One of the electrical plugs was locked, leaving the second machine without access to power. Although the team managed to connect it to a nearby charging point, the machine could not be operated due to safety concerns.

Mr John Teo, who works as a field interviewer, was among those who left disappointed after he was unable to collect his masks.

"I was already quite confused by the differing information online about the collection, like who was eligible and when the distribution would begin," said the 65-year-old.

"I'm just using my expired masks (which I got during COVID-19) as it's better than nothing … I'll take a train down to Toa Payoh and see if I can get there."

Ms Mary Goh, who works at AMK Hub, had waited about 40 minutes, hoping the issue would be resolved.

"It's inconvenient to walk over to the nearby community centre,” said the 55-year-old. “This vending machine is the nearest to my workplace."

A line formed at Bishan Community Club at about 1.15pm on Oct 15, 2026 after N95 masks were restocked. (Photo: CNA/Marcus Mark Ramos)

At Bishan Community Club, more than 30 seniors were turned away over 15 minutes after adult-sized masks ran out at about 12.35pm.

During this time, however, the HazeMaskGoWhere website continued to indicate that masks were still available at the collection point.

Staff replenished supplies about half an hour later.

Among those affected was Ms Birkaur, a retiree who only goes by one name. The 76-year-old felt she had made a wasted trip to the community club after discovering that masks had run out.

"The two masks can't possibly be enough. We were told not to reuse masks during COVID-19," she said. "I think they should at least give us a few more pieces."

She added that she had been giving surgical masks to other seniors who were not wearing masks amid the haze, hoping it would "help in one way or another".

CONFUSION OVER ELIGIBILITY, COLLECTION PROCESS

At Clementi Bus Interchange, a snaking line formed as soon as staff began replenishing a mask vending machine.

Several people expressed frustration over the lack of a hotline or staff on hand to help when they faced problems collecting their masks.

Among them was housewife Kat Wong, who is in her 40s and has chronic medical conditions such as asthma.

"I queued for so long and couldn't do anything, so I stepped out of the line," she said, adding she had expected the process to be as smooth as the mask collection exercises during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the distribution guidelines, people with medical conditions such as asthma, pregnant women and children aged seven to 16 can collect masks only at community centres.

But Ms Wong was unaware of the requirement and there were no signs at the vending machine explaining it.

A woman scans her pioneer card to dispense N95 masks from the vending machine at Bukit Batok Bus Interchange on Oct 15, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)

Two CHAS Blue cardholders also encountered difficulties collecting masks from vending machines in Bukit Panjang and Clementi, despite being eligible to do so.

One eventually obtained the masks from a contractor who was replenishing the machine.

Several seniors CNA spoke to were unaware that they could check mask availability at vending machines and community centres on the HazeMaskGoWhere website. Others were confused about how many masks they were entitled to collect.

For instance, retiree Koh Eng Guan, 82, had assumed that each household was entitled to only two masks.

Some residents also hoped that more masks could be given out, saying that two would not be sufficient. Others called for home delivery of masks to seniors who might struggle to travel to collection points amid the haze.

Retiree Koh Siok Cheng, 65, said she was unable to collect masks for her brother, who is in his 80s and has difficulty leaving home, as the vending machine in Bukit Panjang could not scan a photo of his identification card.

On Wednesday, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said the government was working with different sectors to progressively roll out the distribution of N95 masks, including contractors deploying vending machines across Singapore.

"Of course, the machines will have to take some time to reach the entire island. So we urge patience on the part of Singaporeans, and we will as quickly as possible bring all the masks to every part of the country," she said.

CNA has contacted the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment for updates on the deployment of vending machines and the issues encountered at collection points.

Additional reporting by Alyssa Tan and Syamil Sapari.

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一些居民面临排长队、库存短缺和领取程序混乱等问题，而另一些居民则能够轻松领取到 N95 口罩。

2026年10月15日，在金文泰巴士转换站，人们排起长队从自动售货机领取N95口罩，一名工作人员正在为机器补充物资。（图片：CNA/Alyssa Tan）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

新加坡：周四（10 月 15 日）中午，当 Nancy Lim 女士抵达碧山民众俱乐部领取 N95 口罩时，却看到一块告示牌，上面写着口罩已经售罄。

这位64岁的老人事先打过电话，但被告知工作人员无法保证口罩的供应。

“考虑到采集活动应该从上午 10 点持续到下午 6 点，我以为他们会准备得更充分一些，”这位兼职诊所助理告诉 CNA。

大约半小时后，当新的口罩被推入有空调的大厅时，她终于拿到了自己的口罩。

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2026年10月14日，一台装有500个口罩的自动售货机在金文泰巴士转换站设立。（图片：CNA/Charmaine Jacob）

林女士是部分在新加坡各地指定领取点逐步提供 N95 口罩时遇到问题的居民之一——有些地方排起了长队，一片混乱，而另一些地方则出现了暂时的库存短缺。

但全国各地的情况不尽相同，有些地方的领取过程很顺利，居民们可以快速、轻松地领取到口罩。

部分取货点一切顺利

周四，CNA走访了六个分发点——四个自动售货机地点和两个社区中心——并观察到收集工作进展顺利以及初期出现的问题。

例如，在宏茂桥的成山民众俱乐部，当亚洲新闻台（CNA）记者上午11点30分左右到访时，居民们不到两分钟就领取了口罩。俱乐部还提供了口罩样品，供居民们与自己的脸型进行比对，以确定合适的尺寸。

住在社区俱乐部对面的72岁退休人士珍妮·谭（Jenny Tan）为自己和丈夫收集了口罩。

“我朋友让我来这里，我就直接走到柜台买了口罩……这足够了，因为我们俩都尽可能待在家里，避免雾霾，”她说。

其他居民对收到口罩表示感谢，尤其是在其他地方口罩供应短缺的情况下。

76岁的露西·李女士在一家慈善机构工作，她说她的女儿曾尝试从药店和网上购买口罩，但都发现已经售罄。

“我很高兴至少我领到了两个。希望他们也能尽快把钱发给其他人，”她说。

库存短缺，自动售货机故障

然而，在其他几个收集点也出现了一些初期问题，包括自动售货机的技术故障以及资格和收集程序方面的混乱。

上午11点左右，宏茂桥巴士转换站的两台口罩自动售货机中，一台口罩售罄，工作人员不得不疏散聚集在那里的老年人。另一台机器虽然有口罩，但无法使用。

其中一个电源插座被锁住了，导致第二台机器无法通电。虽然团队设法将其连接到附近的充电点，但出于安全考虑，机器无法运行。

担任外勤采访员的约翰·张先生是众多因未能领取口罩而失望离开的人之一。

这位 65 岁的老人说：“网上关于这项捐赠活动的各种信息让我很困惑，比如谁有资格领取，以及何时开始发放。”

“我只是用了我过期的口罩（是新冠疫情期间买的），总比没有强……我会坐地铁去大巴窑，看看能不能到那里。”

在 AMK Hub 工作的 Mary Goh 女士已经等了大约 40 分钟，希望问题能够得到解决。

“走到附近的社区中心很不方便，”这位55岁的居民说，“这台自动售货机离我的工作地点最近。”

2026年10月15日下午1点15分左右，碧山民众俱乐部N95口罩补货后，现场排起了长队。（图片：CNA/Marcus Mark Ramos）

在碧山民众俱乐部，下午 12 点 35 分左右，成人尺寸的口罩用完后，15 分钟内有 30 多名老年人被拒之门外。

然而，在此期间，HazeMaskGoWhere 网站仍然显示，领取点仍有口罩可供领取。

大约半小时后，工作人员补充了物资。

受影响的人中包括比尔考尔女士，她是一位退休人士，只有这一个名字。这位76岁的老人发现社区俱乐部口罩已经售罄，感觉白跑一趟。

“这两个口罩肯定不够用。我们被告知在新冠疫情期间不能重复使用口罩，”她说。“我觉得他们至少应该多给我们几个。”

她还补充说，她一直在向其他在雾霾中没有戴口罩的老年人分发医用口罩，希望这能“以某种方式有所帮助”。

资格认定和收款流程方面的混乱

在金文泰巴士转换站，工作人员刚开始补充口罩自动售货机的口罩，就排起了长队。

许多人对领取口罩时遇到问题却找不到热线电话或工作人员提供帮助表示不满。

其中包括家庭主妇 Kat Wong，她 40 多岁，患有哮喘等慢性疾病。

“我排了那么久的队，什么也做不了，所以我就退出了队伍，”她说，并补充说她原本以为这个过程会像 COVID-19 大流行期间的口罩领取工作一样顺利。

根据分发指南，患有哮喘等疾病的人、孕妇和 7 至 16 岁儿童只能在社区中心领取口罩。

但黄女士并不知道这项规定，自动售货机上也没有任何标志解释这项规定。

2026年10月15日，一名女子在武吉巴督巴士转换站使用先锋卡从自动售货机领取N95口罩。（图片：CNA/Syamil Sapari）

两名 CHAS Blue 卡持有者虽然符合领取口罩的条件，但在武吉班让和金文泰的自动售货机领取口罩时也遇到了困难。

最终，有人从一名负责向机器补充物料的承包商那里获得了口罩。

CNA采访的多位老年人表示，他们并不知道可以通过HazeMaskGoWhere网站查询自动售货机和社区中心的口罩供应情况。还有一些人不清楚自己可以领取多少个口罩。

例如，82岁的退休人士许英源（Koh Eng Guan）一直以为每个家庭只能领取两个口罩。

一些居民希望能够发放更多口罩，他们认为两个口罩远远不够。另一些居民则呼吁将口罩送货上门，以帮助那些在雾霾天气下出行不便的老年人。

65岁的退休人士许淑贞表示，她无法为80多岁、行动不便的哥哥领取口罩，因为武吉班让的自动售货机无法扫描他身份证的照片。

周三，永续发展及环境部长傅海燕表示，政府正与不同部门合作，逐步推广N95口罩的分发，包括承包商在新加坡各地部署自动售货机。

“当然，这些机器需要一些时间才能送到全岛各地。所以我们恳请新加坡民众耐心等待，我们会尽快将口罩送到全国各地，”她说。

中央社已联系永续发展与环境部，了解自动售货机的部署情况以及收集点遇到的问题。

Alyssa Tan 和 Syamil Sapari 的补充报道。

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