“I just walked to the counter and got the masks … after my friend told me to come here. It’s more than enough because we’re both staying home as much as possible to avoid the haze,” she said.
Other residents were grateful to receive the masks, particularly as supplies were low elsewhere.
Ms Lucy Lee, 76, who works for a charity, said her daughter had tried buying masks from pharmacies and online but found them sold out.
“I’m glad that at least I managed to get two. I hope they’ll give out to others soon,” she said.
STOCK SHORTAGES, VENDING MACHINE HICCUPS
However, teething problems were observed at several other collection points, ranging from technical difficulties with vending machines to confusion over eligibility and collection procedures.
At Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange, staff had to disperse crowds of seniors at about 11am after one of two vending machines ran out of masks. The other was stocked but not operational.
One of the electrical plugs was locked, leaving the second machine without access to power.
Although the staff managed to connect it to a nearby charging point, that position was in the way of pedestrians and the staff decided not to operate the machine for safety reasons.
Mr John Teo, who works as a field interviewer, was among those who left disappointed after he was unable to collect his masks.
“I was already quite confused by the differing information online about the collection, like who was eligible and when the distribution would begin,” said the 65-year-old.
“I’m just using my expired masks (which I got during COVID-19) as it’s better than nothing … I’ll take a train down to Toa Payoh and see if I can get there.”
Ms Mary Goh, who works at AMK Hub, had waited about 40 minutes, hoping the issue would be resolved.
“It’s inconvenient to walk over to the nearby community centre,” said the 55-year-old. “This vending machine is the nearest to my workplace.”