The Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday (Oct 20) that it has drawn N95 masks from its reserves to assist retailers in coping with heightened demand amid ongoing hazy conditions in Singapore.

Responding to media inquiries, the health ministry stated it was cognizant of the growing demand for N95 masks, or their equivalent, and public worries regarding their availability.

"Our checks show that retailers and retail pharmacies have sufficient supplies in their warehouses," an MOH spokesperson said, while conceding that certain stores may have briefly run low on masks during restocking.

"MOH maintains a stockpile of N95 masks, or equivalent, and has released the stockpile to support retailers to manage the demand," it said.

The ministry noted that N95 masks, or their equivalent, are available for purchase at all NTUC FairPrice outlets and pharmacies including Guardian, Unity and Watsons.

The health ministry added that it was also collaborating with Cold Storage, Giant and Sheng Siong to progressively make N95 masks, or their equivalent, purchasable at all their outlets by the end of the week.

It encouraged the public to buy masks in quantities "sufficient only for their own consumption" to prevent wastage.

The announcement followed concerns raised on Saturday by the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) regarding the availability of haze-related products, including N95 masks, air purifiers and filters.

CASE president Melvin Yong said the association had received feedback that some retailers were experiencing temporary shortages of N95 masks, while some had run out of air purifiers.

CASE officers who visited various retail outlets on Friday also discovered that N95 masks were sold out, he added.

"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," Mr Yong said.

He urged consumers not to overbuy masks as retailers restocked their supplies.

Mr Yong also warned against purchasing masks and air purifiers from unverified sellers on the secondary market, including social media platforms, cautioning that such purchases could expose consumers to scams.

On Monday, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu visited NTUC FairPrice's warehouse to inspect the mask supply situation and the restocking of retail outlets.

She had also assured the public on Friday that Singapore had adequate stocks of N95 masks in retailers' warehouses and government stockpiles.

She said retailers are continuously replenishing their shelves, while the haze task force was working with them to keep masks available to the public.

According to MOH, KN95, FFP2 and KF94 masks are also effective in reducing exposure to haze particles.

The government began distributing N95 masks to vulnerable Singaporeans last week after hourly PM2.5 readings reached the very high range on Oct 14.