When the state of Kansas issued a mask mandate, 81 counties opted out. Researchers found that coronavirus infection rates rose sharply in the opt-out counties — while falling in areas that required masks.https://t.co/UMLQzeBVAb
— NPR (@NPR) November 29, 2020
Arkansas has a mask mandate in name only with what’s virtually a statewide opt-out. From NPR on the findings from the CDC:
“This adds to the growing body of evidence that says large, widespread masking helps to slow the spread of COVID,” says Dr. Aaron Carroll, a professor at Indiana University School of Medicine.
Carroll cautions that this was not a randomized, controlled study and there could have been other factors at play (such as more physical distancing in social situations and fewer large gatherings) in the counties that were enforcing masks.
Still, as the study notes, the findings were consistent with declines in coronavirus cases observed in 15 states and the District of Columbia where masks were mandated, compared with states that didn’t require the face coverings.
In Kansas, 24 counties, the most populous, adopted the mandates.
The CDC and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment analyzed trends in county-level cases before the mandate went into effect and two months afterward. Though rates were considerably higher in the 24 counties that required masks, over the two-month study period they brought the growth of cases under control and even reduced them. The counties that didn’t require masks continued to see their cases increase.
On average, the counties that required masks saw a 6% reduction in cases (calculated as a seven-day rolling average of new daily cases per capita). In contrast, the counties that opted out saw a 100% increase.