A tale of two cities: ‘Spanish Flu’ mask laws in Alberta, Canada

Abstract

When the 'Spanish Flu' spread to Western Canada, Alberta had in place a Public Health Act authorising Cabinet to pass Orders in Council to deal with any public health issue. Influenced by medical advice and local situation reports, OCs were passed to limit the spread of the 'Spanish Flu'. During autumn 1918, several OCs were passed requiring the wearing of masks and their enforcement. Relying upon digitized government records, newspaper reports, and non-digitized archival records, this study found that the enforcement of mask laws played in important role in reducing the spread of the 'Spanish Flu'. This conclusion is based upon a comparison of the efforts in Alberta's two largest cities, Calgary and Edmonton. Edmonton's delay in enforcement resulted in almost three times the case load and death of that found in Calgary, a city which began enforcement two weeks earlier. A lesson for the future-enforcement saves lives.