SINGAPORE: Every Singapore household will receive 500ml of free zero-alcohol hand sanitiser, announced Temasek Foundation on Tuesday (Mar 17), as Singapore reported its largest single-day jump in COVID-19 cases.



The sanitiser can be collected from any community club from Mar 23 to Mar 29 or any one of CapitaLand's 16 participating malls from Mar 23 to Apr 5.







The sanitiser can be collected from any community club from Mar 23 to Mar 29 or any one of CapitaLand's 16 participating malls from Mar 23 to Apr 5. (Photo: Gaya Chandramohan)

The participating malls are: Bedok Mall, Bugis Junction, Bugis +, Bukit Panjang Plaza, Clarke Quay, Funan, IMM, JCube, Junction 8, Lot One Shoppers Mall, Plaza Singapura, Raffles City Singapore, SingPost Centre, Tampines Mall, Star Vista and Westgate.



To avoid overcrowding, a specific collection date will be provided to every household via pamphlets that will be distributed in the coming days. Residents must bring the pamphlet to collect their free hand sanitiser.



The collection time on weekdays will be from 3pm to 9pm, while the collection time for the weekends will be from 10am to 9pm.



For those who missed the collection on the specified date in the first week, they will be able to collect their sanitisers on any day in the second week.

The sanitiser can be collected from any community club from Mar 23 to Mar 29 or any one of CapitaLand's 16 participating malls from Mar 23 to Apr 5. (Photo: Gaya Chandramohan)

Other social distancing measures will also be in place, said the foundation. Residents will have to stand at least 1m apart from each other when queueing for the sanitisers. Health declaration and temperature taking will also be in place.



When asked why Temasek Foundation decided to distribute hand sanitisers to every household, Temasek chairman Lim Boon Heng said: “Temasek Holdings believes that a healthy society is good for business.

"When you have a sick society, people cannot work. And people cannot consume the things that you make. That's why helping the community to be well is part of the DNA of Temasek.”



“We hope this sanitiser will come in handy for all Singapore residents, for everyone to pick up the habit of washing or sanitising our hands regularly,” said Temasek chairman Lim Boon Heng. (Photo: Gaya Chandramohan)

On the day of collection, residents should prepare a clean, recycled bottle - or smaller bottles adding up to 500ml - to fill with the sanitiser in order to reduce waste, said Temasek Foundation. (Photo: Gaya Chandramohan

"So we are very happy to have this opportunity to be able to do something to work with the community to help people overcome this COVID-19 problem," he added.



The distribution is part of a Stay Prepared initiative by the Temasek Emergency Preparedness Fund, managed by Temasek Foundation, to support Singaporeans amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Stay Prepared helps ready Singaporeans for emergencies like major accidents, natural disasters, pandemics, severe haze or terrorist attacks.



The sanitiser can be collected from any community club from Mar 23 to Mar 29 or any one of CapitaLand's 16 participating malls from Mar 23 to Apr 5. (Photo: Gaya Chandramohan)

On the day of collection, residents should prepare a clean, recycled bottle - or smaller bottles adding up to 500ml - to fill with the sanitiser in order to reduce waste, said Temasek Foundation.



The sanitiser is a water-based zero-alcohol solution that is not flammable, toxic or corrosive. It also does not stain clothes or irritate the skin, said the foundation. It will be mixed on-site by trained volunteers before being poured into residents' bottles.

A zero-alcohol sanitiser is gentle on the hands, safe for children and non-flammable, which makes it safe to use in places like kitchens, said Mr Lim.

The sanitiser will have 0.054 per cent of benzalkonium chloride (BKC). According to interim guidelines by the National Environment Agency, 0.05 per cent of BKC is sufficient for use against coronaviruses.

“This is part of a radical and comprehensive battle plan to enable our community to overcome COVID-19,” said Temasek Foundation Cares chairman Richard Magnus.



The initiative is conducted in partnership with the People’s Association, CapitaLand, SG Cares, Singapore Post, SP Group and other local partners.



“This is part of a radical and comprehensive battle plan to enable our community to overcome COVID-19,” said Temasek Foundation Cares chairman Richard Magnus. (Photo: Gaya Chandramohan)

Photo of a resident pouring hand sanitizer into a bottle (Photo: Gaya Chandramohan)

Residents who require help may visit stayprepared.sg/BYOBclean or contact the hotline at 1800 738 2000. Those who are unable to collect the sanitisers in person may also get assistance.



On Tuesday, the Ministry of Health reported 23 new cases of COVID-19, bringing Singapore’s total number of cases of 266. It was Singapore’s largest single-day increase, and came just one day after a daily increase of 17 was reported.



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