Households here will each be given 50 medical-grade surgical masks and 25 N95 respirator masks, which they can collect at 131 supermarket outlets islandwide from Aug 26.

This is the fifth distribution exercise of Temasek Foundation's Stay Prepared initiative.

Temasek chief executive Ho Ching announced the distribution of the free masks in a Facebook post yesterday. The exercise will run from Aug 26 to Sept 26.

The investment firm's philanthropic arm is working with larger supermarket outlets and selected CapitaLand malls to distribute the masks. They include supermarket chains such as Sheng Siong, Prime, FairPrice, Cold Storage and Giant.

To collect the masks, residents must bring a paper or electronic SP Group utility bill - showing their SP bill account number - which will be scanned and recorded for the issue of the masks.

Ms Ho said pharmacies will not be participating in the exercise as the masks are bulky and "their outlets are too small to carry much stock".

Household representatives are encouraged to reduce plastic waste by bringing their own bags to carry the boxes of masks.

In the post yesterday, Ms Ho advised residents not to rush to collect the masks on the first three days of the exercise as there is plenty of stock.

"This and other Stay Prepared initiatives have been made possible with the dedication and kindness of many, many public-spirited volunteers from all walks of life," she added.

Last month, Temasek Foundation distributed free oximeters, which measure blood oxygen levels, through major pharmacies and supermarket chains.

Isabelle Liew