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Mandatory use of a mask in parts of Germany last spring has significantly reduced the number of new Covid-19 infections, a team of German researchers reported in a new analysis.
The team used public data on coronavirus cases to compare regions with and without mandatory mask policies last April.
“Depending on the region we consider, we find that face masks reduced the number of newly recorded infections of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 between 15% and 75% over a period of 20 days after their mandatory introduction”, wrote the researchers. “By evaluating the credibility of the different estimates, we conclude that face masks reduce the daily growth rate of reported infections by approximately 47%.”
The study, published Thursday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also found that certain age groups benefited more from mask use.
Researchers looked at data from mask use in Jena, a city in central Germany, after a mandatory mask policy came into effect between April 1 and April 10.
They compared Jena’s mandatory mask policy to a control group, a similar city that experienced comparable growth in coronavirus cases before Jena’s mandatory mask policy.
They found a “significant difference” in the reduction of Covid-19 cases in Jena.
“Our results indicate that the early introduction of face masks in Jena led to a drop in new recorded COVID-19 cases by approximately 75% after 20 days,” the team reported.
“Simply put, if the control region sees 100 new infections over a 20-day period, the mask region only sees 25 cases,” they wrote.
“This drop is the largest, over 90%, for the age group 60 and over.”
The study also concluded that, given their low cost compared to other public health measures, masks are a cost-effective way to fight the spread of the coronavirus.
The analysis did not examine the different types of face masks and whether that could have influenced the conclusion.
Previous studies on the use of face masks in public have also reduced the spread of Covid -19.
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