Watsons and Guardian sold out? Here are 5 alternatives to buy surgical masks in Singapore

The “Wuhan virus” (2019-nCoV) is giving me major 2003-SARS deja vu vibes, and I don’t like it.

And as if it isn’t enough that there’s the new pneumonia coronavirus going around, people are spreading fake news too — forwarding messages about miracle remedies and whatnot.

Ignore those. According to Ministry of Health (MOH), there is no community spread in Singapore yet, but we are advised to practise good hygiene habits like washing our hands regularly and wearing a mask if coughing and/or sneezing.

As expected, everyone “chiong-ed” to snap up supplies of surgical masks (which was recommended).

Within days, retail stores ran out of stock islandwide. MOH stepped up to assure the public that there is sufficient stock available, but from online complaints and feedback, these blue-and-white sheets still seem very hard to procure: you’d have to camp at pharmacies to wait for new stock to arrive, before queueing for hours to pay.

If you need to buy surgical masks but can’t get your hands on them at the above-mentioned stores, here are 5 alternative online stores to try.

Note: The Government has announced (30 Jan 2020) that they are handing out some 5 million masks, with each household entitled to 4. Collection will be from 1 to 9 Feb 2020, at residents’ community centres (RCs) and community centres (CCs).

SURGICAL MASKS AT WATSONS, GUARDIAN AND UNITY - OOS!

Usually the most “duh” places to look are the local pharmacies like Watsons, Guardian and Unity. Surgical masks at these “official” retailers are very affordable, at about $12 per box of 50 pieces. That comes up to only $0.24 per mask.

However, as mentioned, it’s sold out at most of these stores. As such, I looked online for alternatives.

WHERE ELSE TO BUY SURGICAL MASKS IN SINGAPORE

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There are quite a few retailers on popular online marketplaces like Shopee, Lazada and etc, but thanks to the current shortage, they were significantly more expensive.

Prices start from $8 for 10 pieces and go up to over $50 for a box of 50, which is more than 4X the price.

Personally, I find these scalpers quite sickening. But if you “bo pian” need to buy — perhaps you’re sick, or have young children and/or elderly at home — then here are the prices.

I’ve also included the availability (at the timing of writing, of course) because some are preorders and will only arrive mid-Feb 2020.

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SURGICAL MASKS ON LAZADA

The cheapest surgical masks I could find was on Lazada, sold by a shop called Little Things. And even then, it was $25 for 50 pieces, which is double the usual price.

SURGICAL MASKS ON SHOPEE

Shopee seems a lot cheaper, but only because the retailers sell the masks in loosely (i.e. in 5s, 10s and 20s, instead of a box of 50). If you do the math, you’ll find that for those, the price per mask is actually a lot more (from $0.60).

The most worth-it one here is sold by merchant Katetio ($29 for 50) but it is preorder and can take up to 12 days to be mailed out.

SURGICAL MASKS ON QOO10

Of all the platforms, Qoo10 seems to have the most variety of retailers. They even have boxes of 100, which is more value for money.

I also noticed that a lot of sellers here promote K80 and K94 masks from Korea.

However, from what I’ve read, it seems recommended for protection against fine dust particles, and not viruses per se.

SURGICAL MASKS ON AMAZON

Amazon is another marketplace that sells surgical masks. However, the options here seem a lot more expensive, and would only reach end-Feb 2020, which is quite late.

Who knows what the situation would be by then?

SURGICAL MASKS ON CAROUSELL

Ah… Not forgetting the scalper’s playground, Carousell.

Most of the listings are around $30 to $50 for a box of 50 surgical masks, but of course, there are some ridiculous ones that are over $2 per piece.

BONUS TIP - HOW TO WEAR SURGICAL MASKS

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There’s been quite a lot of conversation on which masks to wear and how to wear them.

The N95 mask offers more protection, but it is a bit of an overkill. Additionally, it is very uncomfortable and hard to breathe in. Hence, according to MOH, a surgical mask is sufficient.

Additionally, a mask is only really recommended for those who happen to be currently unwell too (coughing, sneezing). If you’re healthy, you don’t really need to wear one.

For surgical masks, you should wear it with the blue side facing outwards. Pinch the metal strip along the top of the mask to fit your nose bridge, and stretch the bottom of the mask to cover your chin.

This article was first published in MoneySmart .