Canadian province McDoubling down on drive thru mask program
McDonald’s, A&W, and Tim Hortons are partners in the program.
In the Canadian province of Alberta, residents will once again be able to go to a drive thru to receive free masks, part of the province’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The first phase of free mask distribution in Alberta was a huge success and the response was an incredible show of community support,” says the province’s Minister of Health, Tyler Shandro, when reflecting on the first attempt at the mask delivery program.
By partnering with the fast food chains, the province says it was able to save on fees for bundling and distributing the masks, while making them far more accessible to the average person. Residents could pick up the masks at any of the named chains, no purchase necessary, and those without vehicles could have others pick them up on their behalf. More than 20 million masks were distributed this way with another 20 million set to disperse beginning on Monday.
Communities more than 50km away from a relevant drive thru have other arrangements made, as do First Nations communities, houses of worship, outreach programs like women’s shelters, and long-term care centres.
In Alberta, mask wearing is not mandatory, and per million residents the province has the second best (behind only B.C.) death rate in Canada. In the month since we last reported on its mask proposition the province of some 4 million residents has seen 10 new deaths while the deadly diseases rages out of control south of the border.
