Community Use Of Face Masks And Covid-19: Evidence From A Natural Experiment Of State Mandates In The US

Study examines impact on Covid-19 growth rates associated with state government mandates requiring face mask use in public.

Bibliographic Data

ID23319452
AuthorsWei Lyu (0000-0001-7441-9961, Wei Lyu is a research associate in the Department of Health Management and Policy, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, in Iowa City, Iowa.), George L Wehby (0000-0001-7784-9908, George L. Wehby () is a professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy, College of Public Health, at the University of Iowa, and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.)
Year2020
Volume39
Issue8
Pages1419-1425
Publication date2020-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHealth Affairs (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0278-2715 • E-ISSN: 2694-233X
PublisherHealth Affairs Publishing, LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00818
PMID32543923
OpenAlexW3035550116
LanguageEN
Citations received120
References cited9

State policies mandating public or community use of face masks or covers in mitigating the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are hotly contested. This study provides evidence from a natural experiment on the effects of state government mandates for face mask use in public issued by fifteen states plus Washington, D.C., between April 8 and May 15, 2020. The research design is an event study examining changes in the daily county-level COVID-19 growth rates between March 31 and May 22, 2020. Mandating face mask use in public is associated with a decline in the daily COVID-19 growth rate by 0.9, 1.1, 1.4, 1.7, and 2.0 percentage points in 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20, and 21 or more days after state face mask orders were signed, respectively. Estimates suggest that as a result of the implementation of these mandates, more than 200,000 COVID-19 cases were averted by May 22, 2020. The findings suggest that requiring face mask use in public could help in mitigating the spread of COVID-19.

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) · Face (sociological concept) · Face masks · Geography · Natural (archaeology) · Natural experiment · Outbreak · Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) · Sociology · State (computer science) · Computer Science · COVID-19 epidemiological studies · COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts · Medicine · Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy · Virology