Today (5 July) is the first day of the distribution of free oximeters to every household, which naturally calls for Singaporeans’ favourite local pastime: queueing!
Steady queues were seen at supermarkets and pharmacies this morning, with people patiently waiting to collect their oximeters.
However, some members of the public had to be turned away as they did not bring along their leaflets, which are necessary for the collection of the oximeters.
Here’s what happened.
First Day of Oximeter Collection Brings in Steady Queues at Supermarkets & Pharmacies
The oximeters are distributed by Temasek Foundation. They are meant for checking oxygen levels in the blood in order to identify early signs of health decline.
The distribution of the device is meant to help Singapore curb the spread of COVID-19, particularly with regard to more detrimental and infectious variants of the virus.
According to ST, supermarkets and pharmacies in Bishan, Clementi and Serangoon saw steady queues of 10 people waiting at each outlet.
It was reported that most of the people seen collecting the oximeters were either senior citizens or family members with elderly or children at home.
The oximeters are available for collection until 5 August at more than 300 FairPrice, Sheng Siong, Giant, Cold Storage, Watsons, Unity and Guardian outlets.
The letter boxes of every household received leaflets which would allow each household to claim one oximeter.
However, it was reported that some residents had thrown out their leaflets by accident. After all, how many of us can confidently say that we studiously sift through every single leaflet we get in the mail before throwing any of them out?
Unfortunately, the leaflets are the only way to claim the device as of now.
Some residents who had accidentally discarded their leaflets went on social media to appeal for new leaflets to be issued, or for other redemption methods to be put in place without requiring the need to present the leaflet.
In response, Temasek Foundation stated that it would not be able to issue new leaflets to those who had mistakenly thrown theirs away.
True to their word, some pharmacies turned away people who did not have a leaflet when they went to collect the device.
A part-time sales assistant at Guardian in Junction 8 known as Ms Rinah told ST that there have not been any instructions issued to staff on how to help people without their leaflets.
She said that one individual had attempted to use his NRIC to collect the oximeter but was unable to do so.
Featured Image: Youtube (Temasek Foundation)
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