Good morning, everyone.

Sadly, it was probably inevitable. A premature baby who contracted measles in utero has died in Alberta.

Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services, confirmed the death on Thursday in a statement, saying the baby died shortly after birth. There were no details on where in the province the death occurred or if the mother was immunized against the deadly virus.

This is the second death in Canada linked to a measles outbreak that started in New Brunswick, spread across the country and exploded in Alberta.

The first death tied to the outbreak happened in June in Ontario. Similarly, a baby born prematurely and infected with measles died. The mother was not vaccinated.

“Since measles cases were first reported in Alberta this spring, I had hoped this moment would not come,” LaGrange said.

“This is a heartbreaking loss, and no words can capture the pain of losing a child. My sincere condolences go to the family during this profoundly difficult time.”

While cases have been reported across the country, Alberta has the highest provincial per capita rate of measles. There have been 1,914 confirmed cases since March.

Unimmunized children make up the bulk of cases in Alberta. About 73 per cent of provincial cases are aged 17 and under and 90 per cent are not vaccinated. There is no public data, however, that combines age and vaccine status.

It is recommended that people receive the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine before becoming pregnant, because of the risk of severe complications to parent and baby.

While it is possible to be infected even after being fully immunized – as in this case – vaccination greatly reduces the chances the virus can break through.

Children under 5, people with weakened immune systems and those who are pregnant face the greatest risks from measles.

Alberta has been a hotbed of vaccine skepticism in recent years, and the United Conservative government has faced criticism for its measles response.

On Thursday, The Globe’s Alanna Smith reported on how mandatory masking for all staff and visitors at Two Hills Health Centre was implemented on April 1 because of increasing cases of measles and other respiratory viruses. But documents obtained through a freedom-of-information request show that just a day later, the mandate was cancelled.

“Effective this afternoon, facility masking is no longer required,” Tammy Tarkowski, Two Hills site manager, wrote on April 2.

It is unclear from the documents who ultimately made the decision to abandon the masking requirement. But The Globe has previously reported that Premier Danielle Smith’s government delayed efforts by public health officials to curb the spread of measles, including visitor restrictions in hospitals.

Two Hills was one of the first communities hit by the provincial outbreak.

Christine Myatt, a spokesperson for Alberta Health Services, the provincial health authority at the time, said in a statement that enhanced masking was a “temporary measure” while the hospital introduced a better process for managing potentially infected individuals.

“Once the process was in place, the enhanced masking order was rescinded on the authority of local AHS leadership,” she said.

Sarah Hoffman, Alberta New Democratic Party shadow minister for health, on Thursday, called on the government to do more to protect the public from the deadly disease.

“The government knew that this was a possible outcome and should have acted a year and a half ago to make sure that we didn’t experience the outbreak,” Hoffman said.

The Alberta government has said since a marketing campaign began on April 14, immunization has increased by 52 per cent compared with the same period last year.

This is the weekly Alberta newsletter written by Alberta Bureau Chief Mark Iype. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for it and all Globe newsletters here.