Ho Ching sends MPs bottles of hand sanitiser amid flu season

SINGAPORE — Madam Ho Ching, the wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, sent bottles of hand sanitiser to all Members of Parliament (MPs) last week with advice on how to head off the flu season from May to July.

MPs from the Workers’ Party also received the gift. In a Facebook post on Friday (July 26), WP secretary-general Pritam Singh wrote that his party’s MPs had received the “unusual but welcomed” package from Madam Ho. 

He also put up pictures of the bottles of Woodward’s alcohol-free hand sanitiser as well as a stack of letters addressed to MPs from Madam Ho.

“I am sure the PAP (People’s Action Party) MPs also received the same, but it was thoughtful of Mrs Lee to include us,” Mr Singh wrote.

He added: “The package was accompanied with an individualised note, sharing that hand sanitising would better protect us and our families, our constituency volunteers and residents in view of the twice-a-year flu season.”

Responding to queries from TODAY, a spokesperson from Temasek Holdings confirmed that similar packages were sent to other MPs. Madam Ho is the chief executive officer of the Government’s commercial investment firm.

“They are just simple ways that Members of Parliament and their teams can protect themselves from the spread of flu,” the spokesperson said.

“As you may have seen, the strain of flu this season is quite serious. Basic steps to guard against the spread of flu and other viruses can include frequent washing of hands with soap, or the use of sanitisers, and particularly for people with lower tolerance or pre-existing conditions, to get a flu shot to guard against the spread of flu.”

Some 3,017 patients sought treatment for acute respiratory infections at polyclinics in the last week of May, based on the Ministry of Health's data on June 6. Last year, there were 3,023 patients seen in the same period.

In Singapore, the two flu seasons are between December and February, as well as between May and July.

Mr Singh also urged Singaporeans to get a flu shot at a polyclinic or from a general practitioner.

“You can pay for it with your Medisave balances as flu shots are an approved vaccination under the Ministry of Health’s National Adult Immunisation Schedule,” he wrote.