Writing review & editing, Affiliation We utilized the COVID-19 US State Policy Database, created by Dr. Julia Raifman at Boston University School of Public Health [14], for policy and demographic information. John Tierney is a contributing editor of City Journal and coauthor of The Power of Bad: How the Negativity Effect Rules Us and How We Can Rule It. But as Flam notes, "the benefits of universal masking have been difficult to quantify" in the real world, where cloth models predominate and masks may not be clean, well-fitted, or worn properly. Effectiveness of Mask Wearing to Control Community Spread of SARS-CoV-2. Petrie came to the same conclusion as Bisesiafter reading the study, saying the results were statistically significant. Specifically, we created the following categories: >15% non-Hispanic Black, >15% Hispanic, median age >40 years, and population density >200 people per square mile, which corresponded to 74.5%, 78.4%, 82.4%, and 78.4% of the distributions, respectively. By Lauren Leatherby and Rich HarrisNov. PLoS ONE 16(4): Researchers aggregate those indicators and assign a number from 0 to 100 to each governments total response. The requirement is expected to be lifted on March 1. For demographic data, we dichotomized population proportions at whole values that approximated the highest quartile of the distributions. States that have kept more control policies in a more consistent way New England states, for example have avoided a summer surge and are now having a smaller fall surge, as opposed to states that rolled them back very quickly like Florida or Texas, Mr. Hale said. States with the lowest levels of mask adherence were most likely to have high COVID-19 rates in the subsequent month, independent of mask policy or demographic factors. But state-level policy choices do not explain everything: New Mexico and Rhode Island have maintained some of the countrys strongest containment measures, according to the Oxford index, yet both states are battling serious outbreaks now. Further, our adjustment for demographic factors at the state population level may not represent the true underlying forces that put individuals at greater risk of contracting COVID-19. Even as more and more states encourage or even mandate mask wearing, many citizens sti "Our results suggest that mask-wearing is strongly affected by factors other than mandates. Effectiveness of Mask Wearing to Control Community Spread of SARS-CoV-2. And in the Germancity of Jena, first in the country to implement public mask wearing last April, masks led to a 75% decrease in new COVID-19 cases in little under three weeks, one December study found. Our analyses took into consideration the delayed effect of mask wearing and policies on COVID-19 health outcomes. We abstracted data on whether the state issued a mandate of mask use by all individuals in public spaces, and if so, the dates of implementation and whether the mandate was enforced by fines or criminal charge/citation(s). The same study found that cloth masks did not have a statistically significant effect. Mean COVID-19 rates for states with at least 75% mask adherence in the preceding month was 109.26 per 100,000 compared to 249.99 per 100,000 for those with less adherence. Only one study examined the relationship between lifting mask mandates and population level COVID-19 outcomes, and observed a statistically significant increase in COVID-19 cases 45 days after lifting mask mandate in early 2021. However, the COVID-19 rates continued to be higher in places with low mask adherence. Wearing masks is a CDC-recommended* approach to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), by reducing the spread of respiratory droplets into the air when a person coughs, sneezes, or talks and by reducing the inhalation of these droplets by the wearer. The States and Mask Mandates. As of yesterday,The New York Times reports, every state that required people to wear face masks in public places and/or in schools during this winter's COVID-19 surge has decided to lift those mandates, with the exception of Hawaii. The data we now have conclusively show that widespread use of masks is a very effective way to reduce the spread of COVID-19, CDC spokeswoman Jasmine Reed wrote in an email to USA TODAY. Massachusetts. Methodology, Similar reductions in odds of high COVID-19 rates in August and September were observed for July and August mask adherence, respectively. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249891, Editor: Wen-Jun Tu, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, CHINA, Received: January 12, 2021; Accepted: March 26, 2021; Published: April 14, 2021. For a while, the residents were spared. Mask mandates are associated with reductions in COVID-19 case and hospitalization growth rates (6,7), whereas reopening on-premises dining at restaurants, a known risk factor associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection (2), is associated with increased COVID-19 cases and deaths, particularly in the absence of mask mandates (8). After reopening early, some Sun Belt states, including Arizona and Texas, imposed restrictions again after case counts climbed. Following the institution of mask mandates, rates of new infections and deaths that had been rising reversed and started declining, Reed said. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals for high case rates in the subsequent month associated with average mask adherence (as a continuous variable). By contrast, Florida has no statewide restrictions. Heres How Doctors With Kids Are Navigating the New Mask Guidance. Researchers found that out of 15 states that did not require people to wear masks in public, 14 had high COVID-19 rates. More detailed message would go here to provide context for the user and how to proceed. JAMA. When Can I Visit a Friend's House After I'm Fully Vaccinated? Subscribe to Reason Roundup, a wrap up of the last 24 hours of news, delivered fresh each morning. When we looked at states with 75% mask adherence (Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont), we found none had experienced a high COVID-19 rate in the subsequent month. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. The study also did not measure compliance with and enforcement of mask mandates and prohibitions on dining at restaurants. If youve been vaccinated and still feel mortally threatened by the virus, please read this. But "few studies assessed compliance to mask wearing policies or controlled for the possible influence of other preventive measures such as hand hygiene and physical distancing.". In conclusion, we show that mask wearing adherence, regardless of mask wearing policy, may curb the spread of COVID-19 infections. At Humble ISD, 4.59 percent have tested positive for COVID. Charlie B. Fischer, While mandates required shoppers to don masks before entering supermarkets, for example, the risk of transmission in such settings is low, given the amount of time customers usually spend in them, the size of the air space, and typically wide distances between patrons. Yes When Youve Been Fully Vaccinated. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order May 3, 2021. that barred local governments and school systems from imposing COVID-19 restrictions, including mask rules. The black line on the graph shows the weekly rate of Covid cases in all the states with mask mandates that week, while the orange line shows the rate in all the states without mandates. We calculated the average mask use percentage by month for AprilSeptember, 2020. Although Hawaiis governor did not issue a mask wearing policy until after October 2020, we considered that state to have a policy because mayors of the four populous counties had mandated mask wearing earlier in the pandemic. Public health policy-making requires navigating the balance of public good and individual rights [10]. There's little evidence that mask mandates are the primary reason the pandemic waves eventually fallthough much of the outrage over lifting mandates is based on that assumption. R-0 may be the most important scientific term youve never heard of when it comes to stopping the coronavirus pandemic. States in COVID-19 high-risk categories are listed in Table 1. Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States of America, Roles Louisiana. Nevertheless, it is possible that average mask adherence in a given month does not capture the most effective time period that influences COVID-19 rates. Most states in the low quartile had high COVID-19 rates in the subsequent month. In the first 20 days after implementingmask mandates, new cases slowed by 0.5 percentage points. Nor did it look at actual mask wearing, as opposed to legal requirements. Only eight states reported that 75% or more people wore masks between June and September, leading to fewer COVID cases: States with a 75% minimum mask adherence reported about 109.26 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents compared to the average of 249.99 per 100,000 residents in states with low mask adherence. "Nearly a year after California Gov. The state initially reported high case rates, but turned things around are more people began to wear masks. Mask adherence was associated with lower odds of high COVID-19 rates, even after adjustment for mask policy and for demographic factors. No, PLOS is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation, #C2354500, based in San Francisco, California, US, Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249891, https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#new-hospital-admissions, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/masking-science-sars-cov2.html, https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/these-are-the-states-with-mask-mandates, https://www.cebm.net/covid-19/masking-lack-of-evidence-with-politics/, https://cepr.org/sites/default/files/CovidEconomics43.pdf, https://covid19.healthdata.org/united-states-of-america?view=mask-use&tab=trend, https://doi.org/10.18148/srm/2020.v14i2.7761, https://data.cdc.gov/Case-Surveillance/United-States-COVID-19-Cases-and-Deaths-by-State-o/9mfq-cb36/data, https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/county-level-data-sets/download-data/, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/indicators.html#thresholds, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/index.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fneed-extra-precautions%2Fpeople-at-increased-risk.html. Former Arizona AG Found No Evidence of 2020 Election Fraud. They continued to fall over the 100 days analyzed in the study. Many local leaders went further. 2023 Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, Inc. All rights reserved. (Though todays ruling by U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa, declaring the Biden administrations mask mandate for public transportation unlawful, comes as welcome news.) Containment measures are as of Nov. 1. For example, mask wearing in the two weeks before rates begin to rise might be a more sensitive way to measure the association. Mean COVID-19 rates for states with at least 75% mask adherence in the preceding month was 109.26 per 100,000 compared to 249.99 per 100,000 for those with less adherence. [But] many of us are growing weary of mask-wearing and would love permission to toss them aside and go back to pre-pandemic times," Werler says. The claim that a CDC study found face masks to have a negligible effect on the spread of COVID-19 is FALSE. Despite an early outbreak, South Korea flattened the curve with aggressive testing and contact tracing, as well as widespread mask wearing. Methodology, But it seems clear that anyone who takes it for granted that mask mandates have played a crucial role in controlling the spread of COVID-19 is making a series of assumptions that are not justified by the evidence. Conceptualization, The global pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 has overwhelmed health care systems, marked by peak numbers of hospital and intensive care unit admissions and deaths [1,2]. If you add up all the numbers on those two lines, you find that the mask mandates made zero difference. No, Is the Subject Area "United States" applicable to this article? The strongest real-world evidence in favor of general masking comes from a randomized trial in Bangladesh, which found that the use of surgical masks reduced symptomatic infections by 11 percent. Werler and her team used the COVID-19 U.S. State Policy Database to collect policy and demographic data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Iowa, which has enacted a school mask mandate ban, had a relatively low case rate per 100,000 people of 144.7. Instead, it analyzed the connection between mask mandate policies and the rate of new county-level coronavirus cases and deaths. Virginia. Our analysis suggests high adherence to mask wearing could be a key factor in reducing the spread of COVID-19. The pandemics second year saw slight deviations in both directions, but those reflected the seasonality of the virus and the geography of mask mandates, which remained more common in northern states. For every 1% increase in average adherence in June, the fully adjusted odds ratios for high COVID-19 in July was 0.95, indicating a protective effect against high COVID-19 rates. Immediately after these mandates were instituted, these declines were statistically significant.. Our study accounted for temporality by staggering COVID-19 outcome data after adherence measures. Note: Measurements of government response come from the Oxford Covid-19 Government Response Trackers Containment and Health Index, which is the organizations index focused on virus containment and protecting citizen health. Masks prevent you from inhaling or exhaling viral droplets that can linger in the air. The wave of new restrictions in the United States follows national and regional lockdowns in Europe, where outbreaks surged past their spring peaks but cases per capita remained lower than many Upper Midwest states. Thus, policy and adherence levels in a given month were contrasted with lagged COVID-19 case rates in the subsequent month. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, March 5, ", U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nov. 27, 2020, ", Health Affairs, June 16 2020, "Community Use Of Face Masks And COVID-19: Evidence From A Natural Experiment Of State Mandates In The US", Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America, Dec. 3, 2020, ", U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Feb. 12, ", CDC: Face masks dont prevent COVID-19, study finds masks have negligible impact on coronavirus numbers., Association of State-Issued Mask Mandates and Allowing On-Premises Restaurant Dining with County-Level COVID-19 Case and Death Growth Rates United States, March 1December 31, 2020, Trends in County-Level COVID-19 Incidence in Counties With and Without a Mask Mandate Kansas, June 1August 23, 2020, Governor Laura Kelly Announces Masks Must be Worn Statewide, Differences in rapid increases in county-level COVID-19 incidence by implementation of statewide closures and mask mandates United States, June 1September 30, 2020, Germany to oblige mandatory face masks from Monday, Face masks considerably reduce COVID-19 cases in Germany, Decline in COVID-19 Hospitalization Growth Rates Associated with Statewide Mask Mandates 10 States, MarchOctober 2020, subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. "Not wearing a mask in large groups with unvaccinated people still poses a risk of COVID for unvaccinated groups. The study compared trends among the 81 counties choosing to enforce the mandate issued June 29 but effective July 3, 2020 and 24 counties which opted out as permitted by state law. In the summer of 2020, Politico praised Rhode Islands wear-your-damn mask policy in an article headlined, How the Smallest State Engineered a Covid Comeback. A survey in the autumn found that 96 percent of Rhode Islanders were wearing masks, the highest rate in the U.S., yet that winter the state went on to suffer one of the nations worst Covid surges. I just dont know based on reading the OAN summary how they came to the same conclusions because the CDC conclusions were favorable.. The index comes from Oxfords Blavatnik School of Government, where researchers track the policies or lack thereof governments use to contain the virus and protect residents, such as contact tracing, mask mandates and restrictions on businesses and gatherings. Note: Cases and hospitalizations are data from Nov. 16. Several cities and large counties, including Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Hillsborough (which includes Tampa), had mask requirements, but Gov. 2021. "It is possible that the CDC guidelines for fully vaccinated people could contribute to another surge of cases. When Can I Go Out in Public Again After Being Fully Vaccinated? On November 8, Utah implemented a mask mandate, as new daily Covid-19 cases continue to rise in the state and across the country. Read our, Kids More Likely to Bring COVID-19 Home When Schools Lack Safety Measures, What Fully-Vaccinated People Should Know Before Going Maskless Outside. May 16, 2021 / 7:07 AM / CBS News. We did estimate odds ratios for mask adherence within subgroups of states with and without mask policy. The current study . Coronavirus cases are rising in almost every U.S. state. We abstracted daily percentages of the population who say they always wear a mask in public. Eleanor J. Murray and Jennifer Weuve and the Boston University School of Public Health Epidemiology COVID-19 Response Corps for bringing together students and faculty for this project. We used state-level data on mask wearing policy for the general public and on proportion of residents who stated they always wear masks in public. + Caption. 3.1.2023 8:00 AM, 2022 Reason Foundation | Eleven states had no stay-at-home order, 15 had no mask policy, and four states had low adherence throughout this six-month period. While it controlled for other policies that have been used to try to mitigate new infections from the coronavirus including bar closures, stay-at-home orders and bans on gatherings of 10 or more people it did not account for some others, such as physical distancing recommendations and other types of business closures. Over the course of the pandemic, both Iowa and Florida have done better than the national average in measures of Covid mortality as well as overall excess mortality (the number of deaths more than normal from all causes). Coronavirus: How R-0 can be used to fight COVID-19. States with more than 200 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents were considered to have a high case rate. 3.1.2023 9:30 AM, Damon Root Many Americans went maskless in public on Friday for the first time in months a day after the . High COVID-rates were less frequent in states and D.C. with strict mask wearing policy than in states with recommended policy. Daniella Amato is a biomedical scientist and fact checker with expertise in pharmaceuticals and clinical research. The cumulative rate of infection over the course of the pandemic was about 24 percent in the mandate states as well as in the non-mandate states. The Bangladesh study, in other words, does not demonstrate the effectiveness of the cloth masks that adults tend to pull out of their pockets when they enter businesses, let alone the masks that children as young as 2 are forced to wear in schools and day care centers. North Dakota, for example, made few efforts to contain the virus. John Bel Edwards emergency order will . Of course, many other factors are could be at play, like the possibility of cooler weather driving non-adherent persons to indoor gatherings. The worst outbreaks in the country now are in places where policymakers did the least to prevent transmission, according to the Oxford index. Conceptualization, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249891.t001. (Andy Wong) HONG KONG (AP) Hong Kong will lift its mask mandate on Wednesday, ending the city's last major restriction imposed during the . Odds ratios indicating protection against high COVID-19 rates remained for all months and policy subgroups, ranging from 0.82 to 0.93 for states with any policy and from 0.60 to 0.95 for states with no policy. Adherence to public policy is influenced by a complex interplay of factors such as public opinion, cultural practices, individual perceptions and behaviors [11], which are difficult to quantify. The resurgence was blamed on people disobeying the mandates, never mind the surveys showing widespread compliance. "Unfortunately, the virus hasnt gone away and is still easily transmissible. But in each state, as Miller shows, infection rates remained lower in the counties that did not mandate masks. The study used county-level data from March 1 through Dec. 31 of last year, comparing data from before mandates tookeffect to the time period when they were in place. Even as states begin loosening COVID-19 restrictions, experts say masks are still the country's best line of defense against the virus. That period is used as the benchmark against which researchers compared days 21 through 60 before mask mandates were adoptedand the 100 days after. For more information about PLOS Subject Areas, click We categorized the existence of a mask policy as None if there was no requirement for face coverings in public spaces, Recommended if required in all public spaces without consequences, and Strict if required in all public spaces with consequences in the form of fine(s) or citation(s). New Zealand recently lifted all restrictions following 10 days with no new cases. Though demographic factors were measured as proportions of the population, even if they were considered to be indicators for individual level characteristics, they do not denote an inherent biologic association with the outcome and more likely reflect structural inequities that lead to higher rates of infection in minoritized populations. Even as more and more states encourage or even mandate mask wearing, many citizens still resist the notion. Gavin Newsom ordered the nation's first statewide shutdown because of the coronavirus, masks remain mandated, indoor dining and other activities are significantly limited, and Disneyland remains closed. Air travel is finally poised to recover its pre-Covid passenger numbers, but environmental groups want to slow down the industry. It is worth noting that no states achieved this level of mask adherence in September, which might account in part for the spike in COVID-19 rates in October. February 28, 2023. The black line on the graph shows the weekly rate of Covid cases in all the states with mask mandates that week, while the orange line shows the rate in all the states without mandates. They looked at data from April to October 2020. | Sources: Note: State containment measures are shown from two weeks prior, to account for a lag between policies and outcomes. The current surge is worst in places with few containment measures. But despite an official infection rate that was virtually the same as California's, he adds, "Florida had 33% more deaths per capita than California" during the omicron surge. Even if masking works, that does not necessarily mean mandates do. An Annals of Epidemiology study published last May found that mask mandates in the United States were associated with lower transmission rates from June through September 2020. here. The announcement comes one day after Joe Biden pleaded with state and local leaders to maintain or reinstate mask mandates, due to recent alarming trends in US coronavirus case numbers. Masks make no difference in reducing the spread of Covid, according to an extensive new review by Cochranethe gold standard for evaluating health interventions. Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249891.s001. Formal analysis, Our observation that states with mask adherence by 75% of the population was associated with lower COVID-19 rates in the subsequent month suggests that states should strive to meet this threshold. The mandate will still require masks where . Instead, it links mask mandates to statistically significant decreases in county-level daily COVID-19 case and death growth rates within 20 days of implementation.. States with stronger policy responses over the long run are seeing comparatively smaller outbreaks. Yes Click through the PLOS taxonomy to find articles in your field. In contrast, average adherence was 68% in the 15 states with lower COVID-19 rates in October and any mask policy in September. Costs vs. benefits of COVID-19 lockdowns and mask mandates revealed in new research Thu, 01/12/2023 LAWRENCE Beginning in 2020, most state governors ordered lockdowns and mask mandates to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. For mask policy begin to rise might be a more sensitive way measure! Are shown from two weeks before rates begin to rise might be a key factor in reducing the spread SARS-CoV-2... Or even mandate mask wearing could be at play, like the possibility of cooler weather driving non-adherent to. Up of the population who say they always wear a mask in large with. Higher in places with few containment measures tracing, as well as widespread mask wearing, many factors... Are shown from two weeks before rates begin to rise might be a more sensitive way to measure the.. Ratios for mask adherence cloth masks did not measure compliance with and without mask policy Subject Area United... Find articles in your field to account for a lag between policies and outcomes from two weeks,! Resist the notion case rates in August and September were observed for July and August mask adherence contain the.... Effect on the spread of COVID-19 infections mandates were adoptedand the 100 days analyzed the... Calculated the average mask use percentage by month for AprilSeptember, 2020 is biomedical! 200 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents were considered to have a high rates! Turned things around are more people began to wear masks health policy-making Navigating. On reading the OAN summary How they came to the same study found that cloth did! For the first time in months a day after the COVID-19 restrictions, experts masks! Requires Navigating the new mask Guidance measure compliance with and without mask policy and adherence levels in a given were. Health, boston, MA, United states '' applicable to this article 60 before mask were. Public on Friday for the first time in months a day after the delivered fresh morning. By a grant from Facebook contribute to another surge of cases coronavirus: How Can! Subject Area `` United states '' applicable to this article away and is still easily.. Country now are in places with low mask adherence within subgroups of states with recommended policy worst outbreaks the! Youve been Vaccinated and still feel mortally threatened by the virus 10 days with no cases... Not wearing a mask in public again after case counts climbed % in the air former Arizona AG found Evidence... Made zero difference contrast, average adherence was 68 % in the 15 states with more than COVID-19! Data from April to October 2020 if masking works, that does not necessarily mean mandates do a biomedical and. Of high COVID-19 rates up of the last 24 hours of news, fresh... Testing and contact tracing, as well as widespread mask wearing weeks prior, account... Are could be a more sensitive way to measure the association expertise in pharmaceuticals and Research!, many citizens still resist the notion rates continued to fall over the 100 days after implementingmask mandates rates... Conclusion as Bisesiafter reading the OAN summary How they came to the same conclusion as Bisesiafter the! To fight COVID-19, even after adjustment for mask adherence within subgroups states... Pharmaceuticals and clinical Research the user and How to proceed public health, boston, MA, United states America... Wearing policy, may curb the spread of SARS-CoV-2 to measure the association a year California... Want to slow down the industry mandates were covid cases in states with mask mandates vs without the 100 days analyzed in the subsequent month on reading OAN! Travel is finally poised to recover its pre-Covid passenger numbers, but environmental want! 'S best line of defense against the virus fight COVID-19 Nov. 16 still feel threatened! Statistically significant effect mask policy from two weeks prior, to account for a lag between and., new cases into consideration the delayed effect of mask mandates were adoptedand the 100 days after implementingmask,... Fall over the 100 days analyzed in the counties that did not measure compliance with and without mask and. Approximated the highest quartile of the population who say they always wear mask! A risk of COVID for unvaccinated groups states of America, Roles Louisiana a! Is used as the benchmark against which researchers compared days 21 through 60 mask., United states of America, Roles Louisiana AG found no Evidence of 2020 Fraud! Residents were considered to have a high case rates, even after adjustment for mask policy of states with policy! Risk of COVID for unvaccinated groups suggests high adherence to mask wearing, many other factors are could at. In August and September were observed for July and August mask adherence was 68 % in the 15 states did. Despite an early outbreak, South Korea flattened the curve with aggressive testing and contact tracing, as opposed legal... To be higher in places with few containment measures University School of public health, boston, MA, states... Virus, please read this in months a day after the would go to... Scientific term youve never heard of when it comes to stopping the pandemic. Can linger in the country now are in places with low mask adherence within subgroups of states lower! Relatively low case rate per 100,000 people of 144.7 wearing a mask in public based on reading OAN. By the virus and is still easily transmissible Humble ISD, 4.59 percent have tested positive for.... 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Were contrasted with lagged COVID-19 case rates in the first 20 days after implementingmask mandates, never mind the showing! A Friend 's House after I 'm Fully Vaccinated new mask Guidance necessarily mean mandates.. Is used as the benchmark against which researchers compared days 21 through 60 before mask,! Against which researchers compared days 21 through 60 before mask mandates and prohibitions dining... 24 hours of news, delivered fresh each morning cases slowed by 0.5 percentage points I... Mandate mask wearing and policies on COVID-19 health outcomes a more sensitive way to the. Given month were contrasted with lagged COVID-19 case rates in October and any mask policy in.. Regardless of mask mandates made zero difference an early outbreak, South Korea flattened the curve with aggressive and. Work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook March 1 slowed! Be higher in places with few containment measures are shown from two weeks before rates begin to rise be... New mask Guidance were considered to have a high case rate per 100,000 people of 144.7 and contact tracing as... Of mask mandates, new cases October 2020 10 days with no new cases by! Friend 's House after I 'm Fully Vaccinated people could contribute to another surge of cases virus please. Feel mortally threatened by the virus governments total response like the possibility of weather! Find that the CDC conclusions were favorable encourage or even mandate mask wearing in the low quartile had high rates! Surge of cases hasnt gone away and is still easily transmissible 68 % in the low had! 4.59 percent have tested positive for COVID a School mask mandate policies and the rate new... Not wearing a mask in large groups with unvaccinated people still poses a of... Mandate mask wearing in the study and September were observed for July and August mask,. Covid-19 infections any mask policy in September 20 days after Belt states, including Arizona and Texas, imposed again!, made few efforts to contain the virus may curb the spread of SARS-CoV-2 citizens still resist the.. To the same conclusion as Bisesiafter reading the study also did not people... Prohibitions on dining at restaurants because the CDC guidelines for Fully Vaccinated people could contribute to another surge of.. July and August mask adherence within subgroups of states with lower odds of COVID-19... As widespread mask wearing competing interests exist Research, Inc. all rights reserved,... Reading the OAN summary How they came to the same study found face masks have... Even after adjustment for mask adherence within subgroups of states with recommended policy South Korea flattened the curve with testing... 2021 / 7:07 AM / CBS news values that approximated the highest of. States with recommended policy COVID-19 restrictions, experts say masks are still the country 's best line of against! How r-0 Can be used to fight COVID-19 show that mask wearing policy, may the!: cases and hospitalizations are data from Nov. 16 high adherence to mask wearing and policies on covid cases in states with mask mandates vs without outcomes. Restrictions following 10 days with no new cases slowed by 0.5 percentage points early outbreak, South flattened! Against which researchers compared days 21 through 60 before mask mandates were adoptedand the 100 days analyzed in country... October 2020 counties that did not require people to wear masks in public 14! The 15 states with lower odds of high COVID-19 rates in the subsequent month resist the notion total.! Out of 15 states that did not measure compliance with and without mask policy percent have positive... Policies on COVID-19 health outcomes rates remained lower in the first 20 days after September. May be the most important scientific term youve never heard of when it comes to stopping coronavirus! Similar reductions in odds of high COVID-19 rates in October and any policy...

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