Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work. According to Werler, Arizona's data was unexpected. 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. No, Is the Subject Area "Pandemics" applicable to this article? Here's What's Safe and What You Should Avoid, How To Plan a COVID-Safe Gathering When Not Everyone Is Vaccinated. Similar reductions in odds of high COVID-19 rates in August and September were observed for July and August mask adherence, respectively. Indeed, issuing such a policy is not the same as successfully implementing it. As COVID-19 cases continue to drop nationwide, 49 out of 50 states had relaxed their indoor mask mandates as of this week. The same basic pattern was seen in nearly every state. And after three tumultuous years, a new survey from the Public Policy Institute of California found that the majority Californians have a bleak economic outlook for the future. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Instead of carefully analyzing the effects of masks, the CDC repeatedly tried to justify them by misrepresenting short-term trends and hyping badly flawed research, like studies in Arizona and Kansas purporting to show that infections had been dramatically reduced by the mask mandates imposed in some counties. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249891.t002. Because there are so many variables to account for, it is very difficult to isolate the impact of any given policy. Like the debate about lockdowns, the debate about mask mandates will continue. Public health policy-making requires navigating the balance of public good and individual rights [10]. Models were unadjusted, adjusted for no mask policy (Model 1), and adjusted for no mask policy in previous month, no stay-home order, >15% population non-Hispanic Black, >15% population Hispanic, median age >40 years, population density > 200/square mile (Model 2). Privacy Policy | Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook. 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. 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. Doug Burgum reopened the state nearly fully in May. Yes 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. | Nationwide, according to theNew York Times database, the seven-day average of daily new cases rose sharply from mid-December to January 17 and has fallen just as sharply since then, which is consistent with the experience in other countries after omicron emerged. Even as more and more states encourage or even mandate mask wearing, many citizens still resist the notion. 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. The study referenced in the One America News Network report says the opposite, noting. 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. So did New Mexico, whose surge began shortly after Scientific American praised the states strict mask policies in an article headlined, How New Mexico Controlled the Spread of Covid-19.. When Can I Go to the Movie Theater Again After Being Fully Vaccinated? 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. 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. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order May 3, 2021. that barred local governments and school systems from imposing COVID-19 restrictions, including mask rules. Covering up may give the maskaholics a false sense of securitybut they could breathe more easily if theyd just face the facts. When the state faced a surge of cases over the summer, the governor closed bars and placed limits on restaurant capacity. In fact, the researchers calculated that for every 1% increase in wearing a mask in September, the odds of having high state-wide COVID-19 rates dropped by 26%. Writing review & editing, Roles For a while, the residents were spared. Laboratory studies indicate that masks, especially N95 respirators, can help reduce virus transmission. 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). If youre still not convinced to take off the mask, consider one more graph from Miller. Once you start thinking about acting, it probably is the time to act.. 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. Again and again, journalists and public-health officials would single out a state or a nation that had supposedly tamed Covid by forcing citizens to wear masksand then these masks would promptly fail to prevent an unprecedented wave of infections. 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. No, Is the Subject Area "Public policy" applicable to this article? The Department of Homeland Security Turns 20. He adds that the two states "had nearly identical infection rates.". That second observation requires a caveat, since testing rates affect the number of cases that are recorded. Investigation, Nor did it look at actual mask wearing, as opposed to legal requirements. 2021. Nedghie Adrien, Roles Investigation, Because stay-at-home order, mask wearing policy, mask adherence, and COVID-19 rates can vary from month to month, we listed those states with consistent classifications across the period April through September (or May through October for COVID-19 rates). At its highest level of containment efforts, New York state scored an 80 on the index. | | PLOS ONE promises fair, rigorous peer review, Wearing a mask may still give some people a sense of security, but they could breathe more easily if theyd face the facts. Read on to find out whyand to ensure . Heres How Doctors With Kids Are Navigating the New Mask Guidance. 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. + Caption. | On November 8, Utah implemented a mask mandate, as new daily Covid-19 cases continue to rise in the state and across the country. California tested a larger share of its population at the peak of its omicron surge than Florida did, and Florida's positivity rate was higher, which suggests that Florida missed a larger share of infections than California. Overall, there is no obvious difference between states with mask mandates and states without them. The pandemic planners at the United Kingdoms Department of Health had reached a similar conclusion: In line with the scientific evidence, the Government will not stockpile facemasks for general use in the community. Anthony Fauci acknowledged this evidence early in the pandemic, both in his public comments (Theres no reason to be walking around with masks, he told 60 Minutes) and in his private emails (I do not recommend you wear a mask, he told a colleague, explaining that masks were too porous to block the small Covid virus). Herring dismissed those results, claiming unnamed experts told the news network that the reductions in spread the study found were not significant. By Lauren Leatherby and Rich HarrisNov. 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. Looking at one state at a time, its possible to track the relationship between coronavirus policy and public health. A quarterly magazine of urban affairs, published by the Manhattan Institute, edited by Brian C. Anderson. A relationship between policies and the outbreaks severity has become more clear as the pandemic has progressed. California's state of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic is finally over, ending on Tuesday after nearly three years in place. The state initially reported high case rates, but turned things around are more people began to wear masks. "Nearly a year after California Gov. Across the country, indoor mask requirements in blue states are falling like dominoes as COVID cases drop. No, Is the Subject Area "Hispanic people" applicable to this article? The information in this article is current as of the date listed, which means newer information may be available when you read this. The three COVID-19 vaccines authorized by the FDA are also helping slow COVID-19 rates, allowing for the easing of restrictions. 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. Despite an early outbreak, South Korea flattened the curve with aggressive testing and contact tracing, as well as widespread mask wearing. Another recent study published in the Annals of Epidemiology looking at county-level COVID-19 incidence found counties across the U.S. with shorter lockdowns, none at all or without statewide mask mandates when the state reopened were more likely to see a spike in infectious cases during the summer months (the study looked at more than 3,000 counties between June 1 and Sept. 30). States with mask mandates saw higher mask adherence. Gov. 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. 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