Trends in County-level COVID-19 Incidence in Counties with and Without a Mask Mandate — Kansas, June 1–August 23, 2020

Details

• Personal Author:
  Van Dyke, Miriam E. ; Rogers, Tia M. ; Pevzner, Eric ; Satterwhite, Catherine L. ; Shah, Hina B. ; Beckman, Wyatt J. ; Ahmed, Farah ; Hunt, D. Charles ; Rule, John
• Corporate Authors:
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)Epidemic Intelligence Service. ; CDC COVID-19 Response Team. ; United States Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. ; Kansas Health Institute. ; Kansas. Department of Health and Environment. ; Kansas. Army National Guard.
• Description:
  What is already known about this this topic? Wearing face masks in public spaces reduces the spread of SARS-CoV-2.
  
  What is added by this report? The governor of Kansas issued an executive order requiring wearing masks in public spaces, effective July 3, 2020, which was subject to county authority to opt out. After July 3, COVID-19 incidence decreased in 24 counties with mask mandates but continued to increase in 81 counties without mask mandates.
  
  What are the implications for public health practice? Countywide mask mandates appear to have contributed to the mitigation of COVID-19 Transmission in mandated counties. Community-level mitigation strategies emphasizing use of masks, physical distancing, staying at home when ill, and enhanced hygiene practices can help reduce the Transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
  
  Wearing masks is a CDC-recommended* approach to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the Virus that causes coronaVirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), by reducing the spread of respiratory droplets into the air when a person coughs, sneezes, or talks and by reducing the inhalation of these droplets by the wearer. On July 2, 2020, the governor of Kansas issued an executive order† (state mandate), effective July 3, requiring masks or other face coverings in public spaces. CDC and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment analyzed Trends in county-level COVID-19 incidence before (June 1–July 2) and after (July 3–August 23) the governor’s executive order among counties that ultimately had a mask mandate in place and those that did not. As of August 11, 24 of Kansas’s 105 counties did not opt out of the state mandate§ or adopted their own mask mandate shortly before or after the state mandate was issued; 81 counties opted out of the state mandate, as permitted by state law, and did not adopt their own mask mandate. After the governor’s executive order, COVID-19 incidence (calculated as the 7-day rolling average number of new daily cases per 100,000 population) decreased (mean decrease of 0.08 cases per 100,000 per day; net decrease of 6%) among counties with a mask mandate (mandated counties) but continued to increase (mean increase of 0.11 cases per 100,000 per day; net increase of 100%) among counties without a mask mandate (nonmandated counties). The decrease in cases among mandated counties and the continued increase in cases in nonmandated counties adds to the evidence supporting the importance of wearing masks and implementing policies requiring their use to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2 (1–6). Community-level mitigation strategies emphasizing wearing masks, maintaining physical distance, staying at home when ill, and enhancing hygiene practices can help reduce Transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
  
  The Kansas mandate requiring the wearing of face coverings in public spaces became effective July 3, 2020. Data on county mask mandates were obtained from the Kansas Health Institute. A Kansas state law*enacted on June 9, 2020, authorizes counties to issue public health orders that are less stringent than the provisions of statewide executive orders issued by the governor, which allowed counties to opt out of the state mask mandate. For this study, counties in Kansas that, as of August 11, 2020, did not opt out of the state mandate or adopted their own mask mandate were considered to have a mask mandate in place; those that opted out of the state mandate and did not adopt their own mask mandate were considered to not have a mask mandate in place.
  
  Suggested citation for this article: Van Dyke ME, Rogers TM, Pevzner E, et al. Trends in County-Level COVID-19 Incidence in Counties With and Without a Mask Mandate — Kansas, June 1–August 23, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 20 November 2020.
  
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  mm6947e2-H.pdf
  
  
• Subjects:
  BetacoronaVirus Communicable Disease Control CoronaVirus Infections/Prevention & Control CoronaVirus Infections/Transmission COVID-19/Prevention & Control COVID-19/Transmission Local Government Mandatory Programs Masks Pandemics/Prevention & Control Pneumonia, Viral/Prevention & Control Pneumonia, Viral/Transmission Social Distance Social Isolation

  More +
• Source:
  MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2020; v. 69 Early Release
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Kansas
• Pages in Document:
  5 pdf pages
• Volume:
  69
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f316336c5d8d1eb6569cf0a3cde0336491504ed51463b2965d99eeb26d8903c09f12b322b293dec031c2757f0a1e4bf2701e67e9633846b457cdb1c33176bafc
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/97490/cdc_97490_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 145.26 KB ]