Fast-food patrons in one Canadian province are finding something new on drive-thru menus: masks.
Starting this month, Alberta is giving away 20 million non-medical masks at hundreds of restaurants.
“As the province relaunches and we all adapt to our new normal, we all may sometimes find ourselves where physical distancing may not be possible,” Health Minister Tyler Shandro said at a news conference. “Mask use is not mandatory, but we would like Albertans to have the option of wearing a mask if they choose.”
People will be able to use drive-thru lanes at McDonald’s, A&W and Tim Hortons restaurants to pick up single-use, three-layer, non-medical masks designed to filter germs and pollution particles.
The masks come in packages of four, and one package will be handed out per person.
No food purchase is necessary to obtain them, Shandro said, and no money is going to the restaurant chains for pick-up or distribution.
The province is spending nearly $1.5 million on the project, with another $260,000 allotted to get masks to remote areas without those restaurants.
He said the masks can be picked up only in drive-thru lanes, not inside the restaurant, to maintain physical distancing.
