Respiratory cases rising amid haze; MOH activates subsidy scheme for first time since 2015: Ong Ye Kung
The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Sunday (Oct 11) announced that it will be activating both the Public Health Preparedness Clinic (PHPC) scheme and the Haze Subsidy Scheme (HSS).This will help Singaporeans with their haze-related medical needs given the deterioration in air quality due to transboundary haze, the ministry said in a press release on Sunday.The move comes as Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said he is seeing a rising number of people seeking treatment for respiratory ailments as haze conditions worsen."I'm seeing a week-on-week uptick in the number of people visiting the EDs, the emergency departments with respiratory issues, and also more people visiting polyclinics," Ong told reporters on Sunday.He added that the haze situation is unlikely to ease anytime soon, saying: "We're likely to see this haze condition go on for a few more weeks.""So, given that I think more Singaporeans [are] having respiratory issues, we're going to activate our two schemes. This is the PHPC scheme and the HSS scheme," he said.