Consumers urged not to overbuy N95 masks; major retailers are 'actively replenishing' stocks: CASE

The Consumers Association of Singapore advised consumers to be careful when buying masks and air purifiers from the secondary market as sellers often cannot be verified.

An N95 mask. (File photo: Reuters/Nicholas Pfosi)

This audio is generated by an AI tool.

SINGAPORE: Major retailers have sufficient overall stocks of N95 masks and are "actively replenishing supplies" amid consumer feedback of shortages, said Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) president Melvin Yong on Saturday (Oct 17).

Urging consumers "not to overbuy masks in large quantities" as stocks are replenished, Mr Yong noted in a Facebook post that the haze is expected to become less intense by early November when the winds change.

Amid the ongoing haze situation, CASE is concerned about the lack of availability of haze-related items such as N95 masks, air purifiers and filters, said Mr Yong.

It also noted consumer feedback that some retailers are facing a temporary shortage of N95 masks and that some have also sold out of air purifiers. CASE officers visiting various retail outlets on Friday also found that N95 masks were sold out.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less "CASE has been liaising closely with major retailers and we understand that they have sufficient overall stocks of N95 masks and are actively replenishing supplies at affected outlets to meet consumer demand," said Mr Yong.

"CASE has been liaising closely with major retailers and we understand that they have sufficient overall stocks of N95 masks and are actively replenishing supplies at affected outlets to meet consumer demand," said Mr Yong.

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

Consumers should also be careful when buying masks and air purifiers from the secondary market - including on social media platforms - as the sellers often cannot be verified, he added.

Those who want to buy the items online should only buy from e-commerce platforms such as Shopee and Lazada, as CASE has worked with them to put in place measures to verify merchants.

"Avoid deals that are too good to be true on the internet, as these could be scams," he said.

Consumers are strongly encouraged to use the Price Kaki app to monitor and update the prices of haze-related products so that people can compare prices across retailers.

Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox

Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories

Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app

新加坡消费者协会建议消费者在二手市场购买口罩和空气净化器时要谨慎，因为卖家的身份往往无法核实。

N95口罩。（资料照片：路透社/Nicholas Pfosi）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

新加坡：新加坡消费者协会（CASE）主席杨明文（Melvin Yong）周六​​（10月17日）表示，尽管消费者反馈N95口罩短缺，但主要零售商的N95口罩库存总体充足，并且正在“积极补充供应”。

杨先生在脸书上发帖敦促消费者“不要大量抢购口罩”，因为口罩库存正在补充。他还指出，随着风向改变，预计到11月初雾霾强度将会减轻。

杨先生表示，在持续的雾霾天气下，CASE 担心 N95 口罩、空气净化器和过滤器等雾霾相关物品的供应不足。

报告还指出，消费者反馈部分零售商面临N95口罩暂时短缺的情况，一些零售商的空气净化器也已售罄。周五，消费者权益保护署（CASE）官员走访多家零售店时也发现，N95口罩已售罄。

CNA游戏 猜词游戏 逐行破解单词 流行词游戏 用给定的字母组成单词 迷你数独 小谜题，大脑筋急转弯 迷你填字游戏 小方格，大挑战 单词搜索 尽可能多地找出单词 显示更多 显示更少 “CASE一直在与主要零售商密切联系，我们了解到他们拥有充足的N95口罩库存，并且正在积极补充受影响门店的供应，以满足消费者需求，”Yong先生说。

“CASE一直在与各大零售商密切联系，据我们了解，他们N95口罩的总体库存充足，并且正在积极补充受影响门店的供应，以满足消费者的需求，”Yong先生说。

2026年10月14日，金文泰巴士转换站设置了一台装有500个口罩的自动售货机。（图片：CNA/Charmaine Jacob）

他还补充说，消费者在从二手市场（包括社交媒体平台）购买口罩和空气净化器时也应该谨慎，因为卖家的身份往往无法核实。

想要在线购买这些商品的人应该只从 Shopee 和 Lazada 等电商平台购买，因为 CASE 已与这些平台合作，采取措施验证商家。

“要避免在网上遇到好得令人难以置信的交易，因为这些很可能是骗局，”他说。

强烈建议消费者使用 Price Kaki 应用程序来监控和更新与雾霾相关的产品价格，以便人们可以比较不同零售商的价格。

订阅我们的邮件，即可获取精选热点新闻和引人深思的文章。

订阅通知，第一时间获取突发新闻和精彩报道。

加入我们的频道，即可在您常用的聊天应用上获取当日热门文章。