Coronavirus: what’s behind Singapore’s U-turn on wearing masks?

The island state is no longer discouraging residents from wearing them in public, and will distribute reusable face masks from Sunday

Prime Minister Lee says the decision was made following new evidence that an infected person can show no symptoms yet still spread the disease

Reading Time:3 minutes

A woman wears a face mask in Singapore on Thursday, as the spread of Covid-19 continues. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:41pm, 3 Apr 2020Updated: 5:40am, 4 Apr 2020

Singapore reversed its position on masks on Friday, saying it would no longer discourage residents from wearing them in public and would distribute reusable face masks from Sunday.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made the statement alongside his announcement that schools and most workplaces would be closed from early next week, as part of increased measures to stem the coronavirus outbreak as infections surged in the past month to more than 1,100 as of Friday.

Lee acknowledged that health authorities had previously urged residents not to wear surgical masks unless they were unwell – with their exhortations appearing on the front pages of local newspapers – and attributed to the change to new research and the spike in cases.

“We now think that there are some cases out there in the community going undetected, though probably still not that many,” he said in a national address, his third since the Covid-19 outbreak.

“We also now have evidence that an infected person can show no symptoms and yet still pass on the virus to others … Therefore we will no longer discourage people from wearing masks.”

An employee wearing a face mask waits for customers at a fruit stall in a Singapore food court. Photo: AFP

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