Medical supplies are in high demand globally as Covid-19 remains widespread.

Singapore has reported a total of 1,000 Covid-19 cases. Of these, 119 are unlinked cases as of April 1.

Minister of Lawrence Wong said that the increasing number of unlinked cases is a "worrying trend" and the Multi-ministry Taskforce has recently announced that it will be reviewing its stance on the use of masks.

Wear masks to reduce risks of infection

In view of the current Covid-19 situation, Ho Ching has also written a Facebook post on April 1 saying that "any masks will be better than no masks".

Ho advocates the use of masks as an additional precaution to protect oneself and others from Covid-19.

"If 2 people meet, and both wear a mask, it would reduce that risk even further."

Make your own masks

Ho also asked members of the public "to not pooh pooh people trying all sorts of masks, from home made cloth masks to plastic face shields."

She said that while individuals should wear masks to protect themselves, we cannot overlook the fact that the medical workers are most in need of surgical masks.

Making reusable masks at home can help to save some surgical masks for the medical workers.

Ho also shared a link on how to make reusable masks using a handkerchief and two hair ties under two minutes.

In another post on April 2, Ho reiterated that the most important things to do are frequent hand washing and keeping a safe distance from one another.

She also suggested saving the surgical masks issued by the government for use only when unwell.

"And finally after all that, we still want to wear a mask - learn to do so properly. Use a DIY mask, and save the govt issued masks for use when we are really sick and on the way to see the doctor, or when we have symptoms and an ambulance is coming to pick us up."

Here's the full post:

Top photos via Japanese Creations website and Ho Ching's Facebook