A6 TOP OF THE NEWS TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2013 Ministries make plans to minimise disruption Singaporeans may need to adjust daily routines, warns Ng Eng Hen By AMELIA TAN plans are rolled out smoothly. Dr Ng said the taskforce decid- ALL Government ministries will ed to turn its attention to helping announce action plans this week Singaporeans cope with the im- to help minimise any future dis- pact the haze has had on them, ruption to Singaporeans caused now that most retailers have been by haze conditions. stocked up with N95 masks. The chairman of the haze in- Many had run out of supplies ter-ministerial before the Health taskforce, Defence Ministry pushed Minister Ng Eng out another four Hen, told a press million to people conference last KEEP GOING on lower incomes, night that Singapo- vulnerable citizens reans’ lives could The key will be to and retailers. be affected by Dr Ng was problems ranging adjust, slow down speaking to report- from public trans- but don't stop, and ers after a visit to A masked baggage handler working at Changi Airport. In one scenario, the airport might have to slow down operations or divert planes. ST PHOTO: ASHLEIGH SIM port delays to long- Changi Airport and er queues at hawk- we must protect an HDB develop- er centres, to work- our health, but in ment project in ers slowing down Punggol, where he Changi Airport adapts as they work with addition, prevent met workers to masks on. mass disruptions find out how they He said it was as far as possible. were dealing with to tackle low visibility therefore impor- the haze. tant that people – Haze inter-ministerial He was accom- heeded the plans taskforce chairman panied by Acting THE haze last week affected visi- a precautionary measure. to be announced Ng Eng Hen Manpower Minis- bility so badly at one of the two Airfield lights have also been so that they can ad- ter Tan Chuan-Jin runways at Changi Airport that switched on even in the day to just their daily rou- and Transport Min- airport staff had to make changes improve visibility on the runways. tines. ister Lui Tuck to the way planes were taking off However, poor visibility Dr Ng listed various scenarios Yew. and landing. caused by the haze in Riau in Indo- that could occur if air conditions Mr Tan called on employers to “Because it is only a short peri- nesia affected more than 10 worsen. put the safety of their workers od of time, we make the necessary flights yesterday morning. Lower visibility would mean first, and assured firms that his adjustments, and we then sched- One of them was SilkAir flight drivers have to slow down to ministry would help them get face ule the take-off and landings ac- MI 252, which had reached Syarif avoid accidents. Changi Airport masks if they had problems acquir- cordingly using the two runways Kasim II airport in Riau’s provin- may have to slow down its opera- ing them. to best effect,” Transport Minis- cial capital Pekanbaru at 8am yes- tions or divert planes, while road [email protected] ter Lui Tuck Yew said yesterday terday, but could not land due to and sea supplies from Malaysia after visiting airport workers to the thick smoke and had to turn could also be affected. see how they were coping with back. Garbage collection and con- WATCH THE VIDEO the haze. A SilkAir spokesman said the struction of Housing Board flats “I want to give the assurance subsequent flight, which departed may be delayed as outdoor work- www.straitstimes.com to travellers and to Singaporeans from Singapore at about noon, ers are required to rest more. LOW YI QIAN that the equipment is ready, the arrived without a hitch. Dr Ng said: “The key will be to with more on procedures are in place, we will “SilkAir will continue to adjust, slow down but don’t stop, the haze situation continue to make sure that safety operate our flights to Pekanbaru and we must protect our health, is our top priority,” the minister as scheduled, and contingency but in addition, prevent mass dis- said. plans are in place should the ruptions as far as possible.” Download a QR code Since the haze worsened last situation worsen and affect flight He also called on unions and reader app on your Wednesday, Changi Airport has operations,” said the airline smartphone and scan this employers to support the Govern- code for more information. This satellite image shows fires burning on cultivated land in Riau on Sunday. increased the distance between spokesman. ment in ensuring the haze action PHOTO: CENTRE FOR REMOTE IMAGING, SENSING AND PROCESSING aircraft take-offs and landings as AMELIA TAN and DARYL CHIN More seeingQR code generated on http://qrcode.littleidiot.be doctors for haze-related illnesses By KASH CHEONG The number of conjuctivitis cas- Health Ministry’s epidemiology dised treatment for haze-related were not certified for kids. “These Singapore Press Holdings yes- es surged from 200 to 280 at Sing- and disease control division, said illnesses. Under this scheme, (smaller) masks were not designed terday supplied its staff, including DOCTORS in polyclinics are see- Health in the same period, while polyclinics have been able to man- those aged 18 and below, or 65 specifically for children... so they news vendors and more than ing more patients for haze-related visits for other ailments like upper age the spike in cases. and above, or who are on public may not provide the effectiveness 2,500 delivery workers, with N95 ailments. respiratory tract infection and For now, emergency depart- assistance, can see a general prac- they are supposed to.” masks. More masks will be or- Polyclinics in Singapore attend- bronchitis have also increased. ments in public hospitals are see- titioner for haze-related condi- The Health Ministry has said dered. ed to 3,853 such cases last week, Said administrative assistant ing only a marginal increase in tions for just $10. that children should instead stay Said news vendor Veerapandi- an increase of 16.5 per cent from Rohana Mohamed Yusof, 35, who haze-related cases – from 555 cas- On the issue of face masks, the indoors as much as possible dur- an, 40: “I am glad to receive the the 3,307 cases the week before. visited a polyclinic last week: “My es two weeks ago to 559 last week. ministry has warned that smaller ing hazy conditions. mask. I was not able to buy one as SingHealth Polyclinics also cough usually goes away in two or The ministry said there are versions of the N95 on the market Meanwhile, employers are con- it was sold out in many outlets.” told The Straits Times it saw 890 three days with medicine, but it now over 400 private clinics that may not be effective for children. tinuing to hand out face masks to [email protected] visits for asthma last week, up persisted due to the haze.” have signed up for the govern- Dr James said these were likely their workers just in case the haze Additional reporting by Feng Zengkun, from 620 the previous week. Dr Lyn James, director of the ment scheme which offers subsi- designed for smaller adults and worsens again. Pearl Lee and Afdhal Rahman Bosses keen to make up for lost time Singapore business body urges counterpart to act By LIM YI HAN Mr Pay said workers will be and AMELIA TAN PSI TODAY 51-100 (Moderate) told to stop doing potentially haz- ardous tasks such as working By AARON LOW The SBF, which represents over CONSTRUCTION firm bosses Healthy people Persons with from heights if the PSI hits 300. ASSISTANT MONEY EDITOR 18,000 companies, also asked Ka- who suspended operations when Engineering firm McConnell din to embark on a new joint initia- ■ Minimise chronic lung pollution levels soared last week prolonged or disease, heart Dowell, which has ongoing SINGAPORE’s leading business as- tive to raise corporate social re- are considering making their staff strenuous outdoor disease or stroke projects on Jurong Island and sociation has urged its Indonesian sponsibility among public agen- work overtime to make up for lost Orchard Road, reported no signifi- counterpart to promote more sus- cies, plantation firms, farmers and physical exertion ■ Avoid all hours. outdoor activities cant impact on the progress of its tainable ways of farming among their cooperatives to promote Some companies actually put projects – despite also sending its members and to stop slash- healthy, sustainable practices. Pregnant women, ■ If outdoor activity is projects on ice or sent their staff unavoidable, wear an N95 mask* 500 employees home last Thurs- and-burn land-clearing. Mr Chew followed the letter up home due to the hazardous condi- children, elderly day afternoon. The Singapore Business Federa- with a phone call and said Mr Su- *The use of N95 mask increases the tions last week. ■ Minimise effort in breathing and may cause Its regional operations manag- tion (SBF) also noted that negotiat- listo was open to the ideas: “He As the skies cleared and condi- prolonged discomfort, tiredness or headache. er David Christodoulou said: “We ing an end to the perennial haze is- looks forward to a meeting be- tions returned to normal yester- outdoor activity For most people, this is not serious. will still have to see how it goes sue would be a potent sign that tween Kadin and SBF to discuss day, those that did take action for the next few days. But we are Asean as a group can progress on the matter in more detail.” NOTE: A stronger health advisory has been issued today due to the level were keen to ensure projects of small, toxic particles called PM2.5 which was high in some places.