First name
Zi
Last name
Wang

Title

The Effectiveness Of Government Masking Mandates On COVID-19 County-Level Case Incidence Across The United States, 2020.

Year of Publication

2022

Number of Pages

101377hlthaff202101072

Date Published

2022 Feb 16

ISSN Number

1544-5208

Abstract

<p>Evidence for the effectiveness of masking on SARS-CoV-2 transmission at the individual level has accumulated, but the additional benefit of community-level mandates is less certain. In this observational study of matched cohorts from 394 US counties between March 21 and October 20, 2020, we estimated the association between county-level public masking mandates and daily COVID-19 case incidence. On average, the daily case incidence per 100,000 people in masked counties compared with unmasked counties declined by 23&nbsp;percent at four weeks, 33&nbsp;percent at six weeks, and 16&nbsp;percent across six weeks postintervention. The beneficial effect varied across regions of different population densities and political leanings. The most concentrated effects of masking mandates were seen in urban counties; the benefit of the mandates was potentially stronger within Republican-leaning counties. Although benefits were not equally distributed in all regions, masking mandates conferred benefit in reducing community case incidence during an early period of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>

DOI

10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01072

Alternate Title

Health Aff (Millwood)

PMID

35171693
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