Households can collect a bottle of mouth gargle at 25 Singapore Pools branches islandwide from next Monday.

The povidone-iodine (PVP-I) gargle, which is distributed under Temasek Foundation's Stay Prepared initiative, kills germs that cause sore throat and is aimed at reducing the spread of illnesses.

Singapore Pools announced the distribution of the gargle yesterday. The exercise will run till Dec 12, from 10am to 5pm daily.

Interested households can book a date, time and location to collect a 250ml bottle by sending "hello" via WhatsApp to 9099-6600, or visit stay prepared.sg/staywell-register

To collect the gargle, residents must show their SP residential bill or account number, and e-mail or WhatsApp confirmation at their selected collection point.

Staff volunteers from Singapore Pools will be manning collection booths outside the selected branches. Over 8,000 volunteering hours will be committed towards this initiative, the betting operator said.

Volunteers from the Ministry of Finance, Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, Accountant-General's Department, Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, RSVP Singapore The Organisation of Senior Volunteers, Singapore Customs, Singapore Turf Club and Tote Board will also be helping.

Residents may gargle two to four times a day when they feel a sore throat is about to develop, or for general oral hygiene, Temasek Foundation has said.

Evidence from multiple studies has shown that PVP-I can interrupt the attachment of Sars-CoV-2 to oral and nasopharyngeal tissues and lower the amount of viral particles in saliva and respiratory droplets.