Alberta the sole Canadian province makes free masks & helps limit spread of COVID-19

#Alberta; #FreeNonSurgicalMasks; #AlbertaRelaunchStrategy

Alberta, Jun 22 (Canadian-Media):  Alberta is the only Canadian province that makes free non-medical masks to help limit spread of COVID-19 and distributes free to all parts of Alberta, media reports said.

Tyler Shandro. Image credit: Twitter handle

​During the first phase of its reopening, Alberta distributed more than 14 million free non-medical masks at A&W, McDonald’s Canada, and Tim Hortons drive-thrus across the province to help limit the spread of COVID-19.


Municipalities, seniors organizations, Indigenous partners, places of worship and others would share an additional six million masks to help limit the spread of COVID-19.

The success of the program has enabled distribution of free non-medical masks at the three restaurant partners to be paused paused  until the second phase in July.

Albertans who have not  received a mask can continue to call 211 to request a package.

Alberta, the only province in Canada to make free non-medical masks available to help limit the spread of COVID-19, will distribute another 20 million masks in July, via drive-thrus and other partners, details of which will be announced in the next couple of weeks.

Tyler Shandro, Minister of Health said that no other province in Canada has accomplished such a feat. 

Thanking all partners for helping Alberta in distributing millions of non-medical masks to every corner of Alberta, Shandro added,

"A program of this scale would not have been possible without your hard work and community support. We will continue to support Albertans as we move through stage two of relaunch, and people continue to get back to work.”

This initiative is a key part of Alberta’s Relaunch Strategy to safely reopen our economy while protecting Albertans from COVID-19.

In addition to the masks shared via drive-thru windows, the Alberta government provided masks directly to: Edmonton Transit, Calgary Transit, and municipalities without convenient access to a drive-thru; First Nations and Metis Settlements; Seniors organizations and independent living facilities; Long-term care and permanent supportive living facilities; Women’s shelters, homeless shelters and street outreach programs; Addiction treatment centres; Foster and kinship parents; and Albertans who contacted 211 and couldn’t access a drive-thru partner or the alternate municipal or community providers

The distribution of masks to municipalities without easy access to a drive-thru, First Nations, Metis Settlements and other local agencies will continue following the timelines set by those groups.

As of June 19, government has received 1,000 requests for masks from places of worship across the province, and more than two million masks will be provided to them in the next few days for distribution to their congregations.
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Quick facts about the mask distribution

• More than 20 million non-medical masks have or will soon be shared with Albertans.
• 14 million masks were shared through nearly 600 A&W, McDonald’s Canada, or Tim Hortons drive-thrus.
• About 95 per cent of Albertans live within 10 kilometres of the drive-thrus through which the masks were distributed.
• Mask use is not mandatory; they are an option for situations where maintaining a distance of two metres is not possible.
• Alberta 211 is a community service partner supporting the distribution of masks. Any concerns about the distribution of masks should be directed to the feedback form on alberta.ca/masks.
• Instructions for proper care and use of non-medical masks are available at alberta.ca/masks.