Face Mask Use Dropped COVID-19 Spread By 45% In 20 Days, Says German Study
Face masks have been proven to be a cost-effective means to combat COVID-19. A new study adds on to the proof taking the example of Germany Germany mandated the use of face masks at different points in time across its regions. The study concludes that face masks reduce the daily growth rate of reported infections by around 47%.
Governments across the world have implemented several public measures to avoid the transmission of COVID-19.
The most common one is the mandatory use of face masks, which has been proven to be effective time and again. A new study adds on to the proof, taking the example of Germany.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel using a face mask (Representative Image: Reuters)
Germany mandated the use of face masks at different points in time across its regions. The new study employs the public data of COVID-19 infections across these regions and maps them against the regions where the mandate was not in place.
Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, the new research article shows that new COVID-19 infections in a region dropped by around 45%, 20 days after the use of face masks was mandated in any German region.
It further concludes that face masks seem to be a cost-effective means to combat COVID-19, especially as their costs are negligible compared to any other public health measure.
¡°Depending on the region we consider, we find that face masks reduced the number of newly registered severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections between 15% and 75% over a period of 20 days after their mandatory introduction,¡± the study mentions. Counting in various estimates, the researchers conclude that face masks ¡°reduce the daily growth rate of reported infections by around 47%.¡±
(Representative Image)
To get a precise idea of the point in time wherein the effects of face masks should be factored in, the researchers used a standard SIR (susceptible¨Cinfected¨Cremoved) model. In addition, they undertook an analysis of the distribution of the lag between infection and reporting date.
The study further notes that the drop in the count of infected is greatest, ¡°by more than 90%,¡± for the age group of 60 years and above. The researchers ensure that their results are ¡°robust to different sensitivity checks, among which are placebo-in-space and placebo-in-time analyses.¡±
