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Daily U.S. case rates of Covid-19 diseases were lower among states that adopted mask warrants earlier, while hospitalization growth rates declined in the first two weeks after the start. statewide mask warrants, researchers have found.
A study published Sunday in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases showed case rate slopes of minus 1.08 per 100,000 per day among early adoptive states, and minus 0.37% per 100,000 per day among late adopters , compared to states that have never adopted.
“Our results support statewide mask requirements to mitigate transmission of Covid-19,” they said.
Peter Rebeiro, David Aronoff, and Kevin Smith of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine found that there were 15 early adopters of the mask requirements, 19 late adopters, and 17 never adopters among U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
The median rates of Covid-19 per 100,000 were 5.70, 5.59 and 5.99 cases per day, respectively. “These analyzes advance the scientific evidence showing the positive impacts of statewide mask requirements in the United States,” they said.
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In a separate study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, growth rates in hospital admissions fell 5.5 percentage points among people aged 18 to 64 after mask warrants have been implemented for more than three weeks.
Even a two-week tenure resulted in a 2.9 percentage point drop among adults aged 40 to 64.
The study, led by Heesoo Joo and Gabrielle Miller, concluded that statewide mask warrants may be associated with reductions in the transmission of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19 , and could contribute to reductions in the growth rates of Covid-19 hospitalizations.
The researchers analyzed admissions from March 22 to October 17, 2020 in 10 hospitals and hospital networks.
“Mask-wearing is part of a multi-pronged strategy to reduce exposure and transmission of Sars-CoV-2 and reduce pressure on the healthcare system, with likely direct effects on morbidity from Covid- 19 and associated mortality, ”they wrote.
