Alberta hospital’s mask mandate for measles ended a day after it alerted province, health officials

One day after a central Alberta hospital alerted the provincial government and senior health care leaders that it had implemented a strict masking policy to prevent the spread of measles, the facility-wide safety measure was discontinued, documents obtained by The Globe and Mail show.

Internal e-mails between officials at the provincial health agency, provided through a Freedom of Information request, show enhanced masking measures were implemented at Two Hills Health Centre on April 1, because of increasing cases of measles and other respiratory viruses − and the high risk of exposure inside the hospital. It made masking mandatory for all staff and visitors.