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Ministry of Health
Speeches

REMARKS BY MR ONG YE KUNG, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND COORDINATING MINISTER FOR SOCIAL POLICIES, AT THE DOORSTOP INTERVIEW ON THE HAZE SUBSIDY SCHEME, AT HEALTH FIESTA 2026, ON 11 OCTOBER 2026

11 October 2026

  1.       We are still in the inter-monsoon season, which means wind conditions and rain conditions have not changed very much. So we are likely to see these haze conditions go on for a few more weeks. In recent days, it has gotten worse, and I think it will persist for a few more weeks, very likely. 

  2.       In the hospitals, we are already standing up our measures. This means closing the windows in the wards and corridors, turning on the ventilators, air purifiers and also spot cooling. We are taking stock of our emergency supplies in our stocks. I think we are quite well-stocked, so there is no need to worry about that. 

  3.       I think the latest concern is that we are seeing a week-on-week uptick in the number of people visiting the Emergency Departments (EDs) with respiratory issues, and also more people visiting polyclinics. I am sure the local clinics, the neighbourhood clinics, are seeing the same trend. 

  4.       I think it is not just due to haze, but also because the haze season this year coincided with the Influenza A season. So, I think they have compounded each other. 

  5.       Given that, I think more Singaporeans are having respiratory issues, and we are going to activate our two schemes. These are the Public Health Preparedness Clinic (PHPC) scheme and the Haze Subsidy Scheme (HSS). The last time we activated the HSS was 2015, more than 10 years ago. 

  6.       The PHPC programme is clinic-facing. Essentially, we have about 1,400 private clinics out there. We bring them into the network and activate them in situations such as this, where there is some alert or threat that we need to respond to. 

  7.       The second scheme is HSS, which is the Haze Subsidy Scheme. This is public-facing. That means once the HSS is activated from tomorrow onwards, members of the public, if they are below 18, above 65, owners of CHAS Blue or Orange, members of the Pioneer Generation or Merdeka Generation, or on Public Assistance, and so on, you go to any of the PHPC clinics with respiratory issues, you will be subsidised.  

  8.       You will pay a lower fee, and the Government will subsidise the clinics for delivering those services to you. So you pay up to $0, $5 or $10, depending on your eligibility. So, that will be effective from tomorrow. 

  9.       Out of about 1,370 clinics in the scheme, as of this morning, close to 1,000 already responded positively. So I think this will be useful. 

  10.       Just a final reminder to everyone: if there are no major issues, you don’t have to visit the Emergency Department. Go to a PHPC clinic – they should be able to take care of you.