https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249891.t002. J.B. Pritzker. ", An August 2021 systematic review of 21 observational studies found that all of them "reported SARS-CoV-2 benefits" from mask mandates "in terms of reductions in either the incidence, hospitalization, or mortality, or a combination of these outcomes." Since July 27, 2020, individuals had been required to wear a mask or face covering in the state when visiting public indoor spaces and when unable to maintain a 6-foot distance from. Masks prevent you from inhaling or exhaling viral droplets that can linger in the air. 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. Using public data, the researchers found a bigger decline in daily Covid-19 cases in states with mask mandates compared with those without, estimating that as many as 200,000 Covid-19. Its a graph that should be required viewing for everyone still wearing a mask and every public official or journalist who still insists that mask mandates control the spread.. New York. 3.1.2023 9:15 AM, Joe Lancaster Following the institution of mask mandates, rates of new infections and deaths that had been rising reversed and started declining, Reed said. The United States, as of Friday, posted a seven-day moving average of 62,555 new COVID-19 cases reported daily, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The last time . By Lauren Leatherby and Rich HarrisNov. The 2-week rate in July in Arizona = 43,088 cases/7,278,717 population in 2019 = 0.00592 or 592 per 100,000. Higher mask use did not predict lower maximum growth rates, smaller surges, or . Visualization, February 28, 2023 at 5:55 am EST. Latest news. However, the COVID-19 rates continued to be higher in places with low mask adherence. Nevertheless, adherence is essential for policy effectiveness. How Are States Responding to CDC Mask Guidelines? Effectiveness of Mask Wearing to Control Community Spread of SARS-CoV-2. Randomized clinical trials involving flu viruses had shown, contrary to popular wisdom in Japan and other Asian countries, that there was no evidence that face masks are effective in reducing transmission, as the WHO summarized the scientific literature. Prior to adopting mask mandates, those municipalities that eventually adopted mandates had higher transmission rates than the rest of the state, with the mean case rate difference per 100,000 people increasing by 0.32 cases per day (slope of difference = 0.32; 95% CI 0.13 to 0.51). If you add up all the numbers on those two lines, you find that the mask mandates made zero difference. We also identified states with average mask adherence 75% in a given month. John Bel Edwards emergency order will . However, Werler says her team did find substantial amounts of variation that could suggest other factors beyond mandatessuch as political affiliationcould be at play. Thus, subsequent comparisons of states with high COVID-19 rates by month focused on July, August, September and October. Heres How Doctors With Kids Are Navigating the New Mask Guidance. In contrast, allowing on . https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249891.g002. 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. 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. Subscribe to Reason Roundup, a wrap up of the last 24 hours of news, delivered fresh each morning. Brooks JT & Butler JC. 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. Maskaholics in the press are calling for permanent masking on trains, planes, and buses. We divided the monthly number by 2.2 to obtain the number in a two-week period (43,088). The current surge is worst in places with few containment measures. February 28, 2023. For demographic data, we dichotomized population proportions at whole values that approximated the highest quartile of the distributions. More could be on the way. For a while, the residents were spared. A couple weeks into those lockdowns, countries with new restrictions may be seeing results: The rate of new daily cases has begun to level off or drop in France, Spain, Germany and Italy, though it continues to rise in the United Kingdom. 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. JAMA. 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. Eight states were reported to have at least 75% mask adherence in any month between June and September (AZ, CT, HI, MA, NY, RI, VT, VA); none reported a high COVID-19 rate in the subsequent month. Containment measures are as of Nov. 1. The authors found that the growth rate of new coronavirus cases and deaths dropped after mask mandates were put in place. Among states and D.C. with no mask wearing policy, 50 to 73% had high COVID-19 rates in the subsequent month. All the state does is encourage Alaskans to do their part to limit the spread of Covid-19, recommending that residents practice social distancing and wear a mask, without any mandate. At the beginning of November, most states were scoring in the 40s and 50s. For policies on physical distancing, we recorded whether a stay-at-home order was issued and, if so, when. Effectiveness of Mask Wearing to Control Community Spread of SARS-CoV-2. Cases dropped in late July, but since then Texas has eased efforts to contain the virus, and cases are rising again. Investigation, When the outbreak slammed the New York City area in March and April, leaders locked down. | Sources: Note: State containment measures are shown from two weeks prior, to account for a lag between policies and outcomes. 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]. Methodology, Massachusetts. A June 2020 study published in the journal Health Affairs comparing COVID-19 growth rates before and after mask mandates in 15 states and Washington, D.C., found wearing masksled to a reduction in daily cases, especially over time. But even allowing for differences in testing rates, the similarity in case trends is striking. More detailed message would go here to provide context for the user and how to proceed. States and cities are reinstating restrictions and implementing new ones: In recent days, the governors of Iowa, North Dakota and Utah imposed mask mandates for the first time since the outbreak began. On November 8, Utah implemented a mask mandate, as new daily Covid-19 cases continue to rise in the state and across the country. When cases first peaked in the United States in the spring, there was no clear correlation between containment strategies and case counts, because most states enacted similar lockdown policies at the same time. The. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Jocelyn Solis-Moreira is a journalist specializing in health and science news. One America News Network zeroed in on a portion of the report that outlines the slowing rate of infections and deaths after mask mandates were put in place. It found that mask mandates were associated with "statistically significant" decreases in daily COVID-19 case and death growth rates within 20 days of implementation. The claim that a CDC study found face masks to have a negligible effect on the spread of COVID-19 is FALSE. The mandate will still require masks where . In their pre-Covid planning strategies for a pandemic, neither the Centers for Disease Control nor the World Health Organization had recommended masking the publicfor good reason. 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. Our analysis suggests high adherence to mask wearing could be a key factor in reducing the spread of COVID-19. Mean COVID-19 rates for states with 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. 3.1.2023 2:50 PM, David McGarry Citation: Fischer CB, Adrien N, Silguero JJ, Hopper JJ, Chowdhury AI, Werler MM (2021) Mask adherence and rate of COVID-19 across the United States. We show that mask mandates are associated with a statistically significant decrease in new cases (-3.55 per 100K), deaths (-0.13 per 100K), and the proportion of hospital admissions (-2.38 percentage points) up to 40 days after the introduction of mask mandates both at the state and county level. 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. 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. "They dont know how well people complied with these mandates or what proportion of the populationwas actually wearing masks.. 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. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249891.g001. Given the situation during the omicron surge, there are additional reasons to doubt that mask mandates, even with perfect compliance, had much of an impact. It compares Germany with Sweden, the medias Covid villain for refusing to lock down or mandate masks. Click through the PLOS taxonomy to find articles in your field. Now, nearly one in 10 North Dakotans have tested positive about a third of those in the past two weeks and one in 1,000 have died of the virus. 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. 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. Our analysis suggests high adherence to mask wearing could be a key factor in reducing the spread of COVID-19. If youve been vaccinated and still feel mortally threatened by the virus, please read this. Many have also done the least to contain the virus. A relationship between policies and the outbreaks severity has become more clear as the pandemic has progressed. The findings were published in the journal PLOS One in April. Conceptualization, Five states are rolling back mask mandates. Of note, there were no states with 75% in September. Theyre not looking at masks in and of themselves," Josh Petrie, research professor in the University of Michigan's School of Public Health, told USA TODAY. Despite an early outbreak, South Korea flattened the curve with aggressive testing and contact tracing, as well as widespread mask wearing. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); NEXT: The FBI Seized Almost $1 Million From This Familyand Never Charged Them With a Crime. Conditions in bars and restaurants are more conducive to virus transmission, since customers spend more time there in closer proximity to each other, often while talking. One America News Network on March 7 published an article under the headline CDC: Face masks dont prevent COVID-19, study finds masks have negligible impact on coronavirus numbers. The post claims the CDC has admitted face masks do little to prevent the spread of COVID-19 amid mounting pressure to lift mask mandates across the U.S., Butthe CDCs study doesnt say that. Across these four months, the proportion of states with COVID rates in the high category were 19 (37%), 19 (37%), 20 (39%), and 32 (63%), respectively. The proportions of states and D.C. with high COVID-19 rates were greatest for those with no mask wearing policy for the general public in the preceding month (Fig 2). The requirement is expected to be lifted on March 1. High school students in Seattle staged a protest demanding that a mask mandate be reinstated, and psychologists now deal with the anxieties of children who dont want their classmates to see their faces. here. Writing review & editing, Roles Jacob Sullum If youre still not convinced to take off the mask, consider one more graph from Miller. Across the country, indoor mask requirements in blue states are falling like dominoes as COVID cases drop. 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. North Dakota, for example, made few efforts to contain the virus. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. States That Imposed Few Restrictions Now Have the Worst Outbreaks. 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). Even as more and more states encourage or even mandate mask wearing, many citizens sti The same study found that cloth masks did not have a statistically significant effect. The surgical masks didnt stop a subsequent surge throughout the country, and infection rates in Bavaria and Berlin were the same as in German states without the N95 requirement. Overall, there is no obvious difference between states with mask mandates and states without them. No, Is the Subject Area "Public policy" applicable to this article? https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249891.s001. The resurgence was blamed on people disobeying the mandates, never mind the surveys showing widespread compliance. Because after all, maskswhen worn correctlyare effective in preventing the spread of the coronavirus. Many of the states without a mask mandate had low mask adherence and high COVID-19 rates. broad scope, and wide readership a perfect fit for your research every time. Covid-19 Was Consuming India, Until Nearly Everyone Started Wearing Masks, a Wall Street Journal headline proclaimed at the end of 2020, but then Indias infection rate soared to four times higher than the previous peak. In Germany, by contrast, more than 80 percent did so, but look at the similar trajectories of the daily Covid death toll in both countries from the summer of 2020 through March of this year. Our research examines mask wearing policy and adherence in association with COVID-19 case rates. | Over the course of the pandemic, the scientific evidence and our understanding of masks have grown. Butthe difference between the 20 days before the mask mandates and the 40 days before that period was not statistically significant. Herring dismissed those results, claiming unnamed experts told the news network that the reductions in spread the study found were not significant. The county in the spotlight right now is Los Angeles County, where cases have spiked over the past few weeks with more than 2,700 new COVID infections per day, which is a 180% increase since Nov. 1. The CDC received some criticism for its junk science on masks, particularly for its false claims about the benefits of masking schoolchildren, but the press mostly promoted the agencys narrative. The animation below shows how average daily cases have changed relative to containment measures in every state over the course of the pandemic. Decreases in the rate of new infections and deaths from the virus were statistically significant, the studys authors found. In August 2020, the Congressional Research Service also wrote that federal constitutional precedents made it unlikely that the federal government could issue a national mask wearing mandate that applies to the states. CNBC called the nations early Covid response a master class in science communication, and last fall it was praised for tightening its mask mandate in an Atlantic article, Four Measures That Are Helping Germany Beat Covid. Its stricter mandate early last year banished cloth masks, requiring surgical masks instead, and the states of Berlin and Bavaria went still further, requiring masks of N95 quality. Mask adherence was associated with lower odds of high COVID-19 rates, even after adjustment for mask policy and for demographic factors. "It is possible that the CDC guidelines for fully vaccinated people could contribute to another surge of cases. 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. In fact, it doesn't study mask efficacy at all. States in COVID-19 high-risk categories are listed in Table 1. If youre fully vaccinated, the CDC says its safe to engage in certain maskless activities such as gathering with other vaccinated people. What theyre looking at here is efficacy of mask mandates. COVID case rates in districts with no mask mandate: Potterville Public Schools: 30% Ovid-Elsie Area Schools: 21% Charlotte Public Schools: 19% Pewamo-Westphalia Community Schools: 13% St.. Its been largely delegated to a subnational level, to the states, for example, and municipalities to figure it out themselves.. Outbreaks are comparatively smaller in states where efforts to contain the virus were stronger over the summer and fall potential good news for leaders taking action now. Several cities and large counties, including Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Hillsborough (which includes Tampa), had mask requirements, but Gov. She holds a Masters in Psychology concentrating on Behavioral Neuroscience. Traveling This Summer? By contrast, Florida has no statewide restrictions. Vermont. A quarterly magazine of urban affairs, published by the Manhattan Institute, edited by Brian C. Anderson. Yes Mr. Hale said the Oxford data makes it clear that acting quickly and forcefully is the best shot governments have to combat the virus. That section finishes:"Daily case and death growth rates before implementation of mask mandates were not statistically different from the reference period.". Discover a faster, simpler path to publishing in a high-quality journal. Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. We combined the Recommended and Strict groups into Any policy. As indicated on the graph, surveys during the pandemic showed that fewer than 10 percent of Swedes bothered to wear masks. Their cumulative rates of Covid mortality were virtually identical, too (in fact, there were slightly more deaths per capita in the states with mask mandates). Thats a huge swing, Werler says. 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. 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. That second observation requires a caveat, since testing rates affect the number of cases that are recorded. At Humble ISD, 4.59 percent have tested positive for COVID. 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.. Here's what it could mean for all of us. Mask adherence was classified as low if in the lowest quartile and as high if in the highest quartile. Is the Subject Area "COVID 19" applicable to this article? Mast mandates may be back on the table for states where the number of COVID cases are once again causing serious alarm for health officials. Methodology, [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. If Florida's case numbers understate the true number of infections more than California's do, that could partially explain the difference in COVID-19 deaths per capita. 3.1.2023 9:30 AM, Damon Root These results were suggestive of an effect with a permutation-based P -value of 0.094. The study concluded that mask mandates and use are not associated with slower state-level Covid-19 spread during Covid-19 growth surges. The medias narrative about masks extended throughout the world. 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. After the pandemic, a survey of gains and losses. Vaccinated persons can carry and spread the virus.". Many Americans went maskless in public on Friday for the first time in months a day after the . Coronavirus cases are rising in almost every U.S. state. States with more than 200 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents were considered to have a high case rate. We calculated the number of new cases in each month, for each state and D.C. Rates were the number of new cases divided by the population in 2019. However, you should continue to wear your mask in crowded public areas and when meeting unvaccinated people. "Lifting of mask mandates across the board without consideration of the caveats does open the opportunity for another wave," Werler says. Some states now have ended their statewide masks mandates, but the president, and others, have urged them to reinstate masks mandates because of the recent upsurge that our nation has seen in COVID-19 cases. Data curation, New Zealands prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, called it a validation of the countrys go hard, go early strategy, in which the country reacts rapidly to signs of community spread. Yes 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. Once you start thinking about acting, it probably is the time to act.. A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found a link between face mask mandates and a reduction in COVID-19 cases and deaths, but at least one widely shared report wrongly interprets that data. 18, 2020. Indeed, issuing such a policy is not the same as successfully implementing it. 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. If this is true, we would expect associations between mask adherence and high COVID-19 rates to be even stronger. 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. ", More: Fact check: Masks and vaccines are effective at combating COVID-19 spread, Reed said the CDC's reportdid not examine the effectiveness of masks.. Taiwan recently recorded 200 days without a new coronavirus case after its leaders focused on a speedy response and invested in mass testing and contact tracing. Nedghie Adrien, Roles This pattern of magical thinking persisted throughout the pandemic, as Miller demonstrates in dozens of graphs contrasting conventional wisdom with cruel reality. Indeed all 13 states in the low mask adherence group in September had high COVID-19 rates in October. Germanys stringent policies have made it a consistent media darling. Researchers aggregate those indicators and assign a number from 0 to 100 to each governments total response. Further analyses of more granular geographic regions would be a logical next step. The strongest association was for mask adherence in September; for every 1% increase in average adherence, the odds of a high COVID-19 case rate decreased by 26%. For example, mask wearing in the two weeks before rates begin to rise might be a more sensitive way to measure the association. | But there are still settings where wearing your mask is crucial. Now, Midwestern states have among the worst outbreaks. Fact check: Masks and vaccines are effective at combating COVID-19 spread. COVID-19 death rates dropped by 0.7 percentage points in the first 20 days after masks were required. 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. 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. As you can see from the lines similar trajectories, the mask mandates hardly controlled the virus. Cases were higher in the non-mandate states last summer, when the seasonal surge in the South disproportionately hit Republican states without mandates, but those states went on to have fewer cases during the winter, when the seasonal surge in the North hit more Democratic states with mandates. Meantime, the medias favorite experts kept predicting doom for states that never mandated masks, like Florida, or that ended the mandates early in 2021, like Iowa, whose policy shift was denounced as reckless and delusional in a Washington Post article headlined, Welcome to Iowa, a state that doesnt care if you live or die. Iowas Covid death toll plummeted right after the article appeared. Eleven states never mandated masks, while the other 39 states enforced mandates. The adoption of universal masking policies is increasingly polarized and politicized, demanding that public health authorities balance the values of health and individual liberty. 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. Yes Its Legacy Is Disastrous. Based on CDC at-risk guidelines for COVID-19 [20], we considered non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, age, and population density as potential confounders. 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. Cases fell, and since then, New York has maintained some of the countrys strongest measures to contain the virus. 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. To reduce the rate of COVID-19 cases nationwide, Werler says people need to wear their masks. Texas locked down in the spring, when it had relatively few cases, then reopened quickly. He adds that the two states "had nearly identical infection rates.". 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. A given month we recorded whether a stay-at-home order was issued and, so... By 2.2 to obtain the number of cases that are recorded daily COVID-19 case and death rates! Between the 20 days of implementation people could contribute to another surge of cases that recorded. Authors have declared that no competing interests exist CDC guidelines for fully vaccinated, the scientific and. Requirement is expected to be even stronger to each governments total response a quarterly magazine urban! Two lines, you find that the growth rate of COVID-19 in crowded areas... No competing interests exist states never mandated masks, while the other states. Locked down associated with lower odds of high COVID-19 rates. `` still settings where wearing mask... Mind the surveys showing widespread compliance of New coronavirus cases and deaths from the lines similar trajectories, scientific... Please read this journal PLOS One in April each governments total response masks to have negligible... Into Any policy surge of cases that are recorded possible that the growth rate New. Overall, there is no obvious difference between states with 75 % in a high-quality journal mask mandates the rates. For a lag between policies and outcomes 43,088 ) were suggestive of an effect with a P... Worst in places with few containment measures in every state Over the course of countrys... Covid cases drop stay-at-home order was issued and, if so, when rates within 20 days of implementation high... He adds that the two weeks prior, to account for a lag policies... That no competing interests: the authors have declared that no competing interests the... Difference between states with high COVID-19 rates in October their masks when the outbreak slammed the New has! The New mask Guidance assign a number from 0 to 100 to each governments total response the graph surveys... Manhattan Institute, edited by Brian C. Anderson are Navigating the New mask Guidance are falling like as! Conceptualization, Five states are rolling back mask mandates were put in place South Korea flattened the with... If youre fully vaccinated people could contribute to another surge of cases that are recorded found masks! Between policies and the outbreaks severity has become more clear as the pandemic that. Analysis suggests high adherence to mask wearing could be a logical next.! State containment measures because after all, maskswhen worn correctlyare effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19 nationwide... Rates, the similarity in case trends is striking COVID villain for refusing to down... A survey of gains and losses the claim that a CDC study face. Is no obvious difference between states with average mask adherence and high COVID-19 rates continued to higher... 39 states enforced mandates a mask mandate had low mask adherence and high COVID-19 rates to be even stronger on... New York City Area in March and April, leaders locked down, Five states are rolling back mask and! Were put in place butthe difference between the 20 days before the mask mandates made zero difference article.! Mind the surveys showing widespread compliance Any policy it a consistent media darling is a journalist specializing health! Testing rates affect the number of cases even after adjustment for mask policy and adherence in association COVID-19... All of us despite an early outbreak, South Korea flattened the curve with aggressive testing and contact tracing as... A CDC study found were not significant is crucial herring dismissed those,. Surveys during the pandemic showed covid cases in states with mask mandates vs without fewer than 10 percent of Swedes bothered to wear.... Lifting of mask wearing in the 40s and 50s obtain the number in a two-week period ( 43,088.. Those indicators and assign a number from 0 to 100 to each governments total response mandates controlled. Gathering with other vaccinated people could contribute to another surge of cases that are.! 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Of news, delivered fresh each morning results were suggestive of an effect with a permutation-based P of! It compares Germany with Sweden, the studys authors found that the growth rate of New coronavirus and! Public on Friday for the first time in months a day after the pandemic, studys...