Mask Mandates and COVID-19 Related Symptoms in the US

Nguyen, My (2020): Mask Mandates and COVID-19 Related Symptoms in the US.

Abstract

This study investigates the extent to which the Public Mask Mandate, a policy that requires the use of face masks in public, can protect people from developing COVID-19 symptoms during the initial stage of the pandemic. By exploiting the differential timing of the mask mandate implementation across the United States, we show that mandating masks in public significantly lowers the incidence of developing all COVID-19 symptoms by 0.29 percentage points. Taking the mandate-unaffected individuals who display all symptoms as the benchmark, our estimate implies an average reduction by 290%. The finding provides suggestive evidence for the health benefits of wearing masks in public in the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also highlights the relevance of public mask wearing for the ongoing pandemic where the vaccination rate is precarious and access to vaccines is still limited in many countries.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: COVID-19; coronavirus symptoms; mask mandates; face masks
• Subjects: I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I12 - Health Behavior; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I18 - Government Policy ; Regulation ; Public Health

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021), Choosing Safer Activities. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/participate-in-activities.html

World Health Organization. (2020). COVID-19: Operational guidance for maintaining essential health services during an outbreak.

Le, K., & Nguyen, M. (2021). The psychological burden of the COVID-19 pandemic severity. Economics & Human Biology, 41, 100979.

Hellewell, J., Abbott, S., Gimma, A., Bosse, N. I., Jarvis, C. I., Russell, T. W., ... & Flasche, S. (2020). Feasibility of controlling COVID-19 outbreaks by isolation of cases and contacts. The Lancet Global Health.

Coronavirus cases: Worldometer. (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2021, from https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/.

Le, K., & Nguyen, M. (2021). The psychological consequences of COVID-19 lockdowns. International Review of Applied Economics, 35(2), 147-163.

Boyarsky, B. J., Werbel, W. A., Avery, R. K., Tobian, A. A., Massie, A. B., Segev, D. L., & Garonzik-Wang, J. M. (2021). Antibody response to 2-dose SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine series in solid organ transplant recipients. Jama, 325(21), 2204-2206.

World Health Organization. (2020). Modes of transmission of virus causing COVID-19: implications for IPC precaution recommendations: scientific brief, 29 March 2020 (No. WHO/2019-nCoV/Sci_Brief/Transmission_modes/2020.2). World Health Organization.

Le, K., & Nguyen, M. (2019). Racial/Ethnic Match and Student-Teacher Relationships.

Peeples, L. (2021). What the science says about lifting mask mandates. Nature. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01394-0#ref-CR1

Ferguson, M., Laydon, D., Nedjati-Gilani, G., Imai, N., Ainslie, K., & Baguelin, M. (2020). Impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to reduce COVID19 mortality and healthcare demand, Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team, 16 March 2020.

Le, K., & Nguyen, M. (2020). Aerial bombardment and educational attainment. International Review of Applied Economics, 34(3), 361-383.

Davies, A., Thompson, K. A., Giri, K., Kafatos, G., Walker, J., & Bennett, A. (2013). Testing the efficacy of homemade masks: would they protect in an influenza pandemic?. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 7 (4), 413-418.

Le, K., & Nguyen, M. (2020). Armed conflict and birth weight. Economics & Human Biology, 39, 100921.

Howard, J., Huang, A., Li, Z., Tufekci, Z., Zdimal, V., van der Westhuizen, H. M., ... & Rimoin, A. W. (2021). An evidence review of face masks against COVID-19. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(4).

Leung, N. H., Chu, D. K., Shiu, E. Y., Chan, K. H., McDevitt, J. J., Hau, B. J., ... & Seto, W. H. (2020). Respiratory virus shedding in exhaled breath and efficacy of face masks. Nature Medicine, 26 (5), 676-680.

Le, K., & Nguyen, M. (2020). Shedding light on maternal education and child health in developing countries. World Development, 133, 105005.

World Health Organization. (2020). Getting your workplace ready for COVID-19: how COVID-19 spreads, 19 March 2020 (No. WHO/2019-nCov/workplace/2020.2). World Health Organization.

Le, K., & Nguyen, M. (2021). In-utero Exposure to Rainfall Variability and Early Childhood Health. World Development, 144, 105485.

Grant, M. C., Geoghegan, L., Arbyn, M., Mohammed, Z., McGuinness, L., Clarke, E. L., & Wade, R. G. (2020). The prevalence of symptoms in 24,410 adults infected by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19): a systematic review and meta-analysis of 148 studies from 9 countries. PloS one, 15(6), e0234765.

Lim, S., Yoon, H. I., Song, K. H., Kim, E. S., & Kim, H. B. (2020). Face masks and containment of COVID-19: experience from South Korea. The Journal of Hospital Infection, 106(1), 206.

Le, K., & Nguyen, M. (2021). The Impacts of Temperature Shocks on Birth Weight in Vietnam. Population and Development Review.

Assaker, R., Colas, A. E., Julien-Marsollier, F., Bruneau, B., Marsac, L., Greff, B., ... & Dahmani, S. (2020). Presenting symptoms of COVID-19 in children: a meta-analysis of published studies. British journal of anaesthesia, 125(3), e330-e332.

World Health Organization. (2020). Addressing human rights as key to the COVID-19: response, 21 April 2020 (No. WHO/2019-nCoV/SRH/Rights/2020.1). World Health Organization.

Le, K., & Nguyen, M. (2021). How Education Empowers Women in Developing Countries. The BE Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 21(2), 511-536.

Coronavirus cases: Worldometer. (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2021, from https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/.

Alimohamadi, Y., Sepandi, M., Taghdir, M., & Hosamirudsari, H. (2020). Determine the most common clinical symptoms in COVID-19 patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of preventive medicine and hygiene, 61(3), E304.

Le, K., & Nguyen, M. (2021). Education and political engagement. International Journal of Educational Development, 85, 102441.

United Nations. (n.d.). Coronavirus. Retrieved October 3, 2021, from https://www.un.org/en/coronavirus

World Health Organization. (2020). Infection prevention and control during health care when COVID-19 is suspected: interim guidance, 19 March 2020 (No. WHO/2019-nCoV/IPC/2020.3). World Health Organization.

Le, K. (2020). Land use restrictions, misallocation in agriculture, and aggregate productivity in Vietnam. Journal of Development Economics, 145, 102465.

World Health Organization. (2020). Breastfeeding and COVID-19: scientific brief, 23 June 2020 (No. WHO/2019-nCoV/Sci_Brief/Breastfeeding/2020.1). World Health Organization.

Le, K., & Nguyen, M. (2020). The impacts of farmland expropriation on Vietnam’s rural households. Review of Development Economics, 24(4), 1560-1582.

Jarvis, C. I., Van Zandvoort, K., Gimma, A., Prem, K., Klepac, P., Rubin, G. J., & Edmunds, W. J. (2020). Quantifying the impact of physical distance measures on the transmission of COVID-19 in the UK. BMC Medicine, 18, 1-10.

Bourouiba, L. (2020). Turbulent gas clouds and respiratory pathogen emissions: potential implications for reducing transmission of COVID-19. JAMA, 323(18), 1837-1838.

Le, K., & Nguyen, M. (2020). The Impacts of Armed Conflict on Child Health: Evidence from 56 Developing Countries.

The United Nations & COVID-19 Global Health Emergency – UNA-USA. (n.d.). Https://Unausa.Org/Un-Covid-19-Response/. Retrieved October 3, 2021, from https://unausa.org/un-covid-19-response/

UNStats COVID-19 response. (n.d.). Https://Covid-19-Data.Unstatshub.Org/. Retrieved October 3, 2021, from https://covid-19-data.unstatshub.org/

Le, K., & Nguyen, M. (2019). ‘Bad Apple’ peer effects in elementary classrooms: the case of corporal punishment in the home. Education Economics, 27(6), 557-572.

World Health Organization. (2020). Overview of public health and social measures in the context of COVID-19: interim guidance, 18 May 2020 (No. WHO/2019-nCoV/PHSM_Overview/2020.1). World Health Organization.