Trends in the Use of Face Coverings in Publicly Accessible Spaces During the COVID-19 Pandemic, King County, Washington, November 2020-May 2021.

OBJECTIVES: Appropriate face covering use at public venues can help mitigate the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the absence of widespread vaccination and provide protection when viral variants become more infectious. The objective of this study was to evaluate compliance with a statewide face mask mandate by examining trends in face covering use in publicly accessible spaces in King County, Washington. METHODS: From November 27, 2020, through May 11, 2021, we conducted a repeated cross-sectional observational study of face covering use across publicly accessible venues (eg, grocery and convenience stores, airport, transit center, post office). Trained observers recorded perceived sex, estimated age group, and face covering use. We calculated estimates of overall face covering use and prevalence ratios (PRs) with 95% CIs. RESULTS: We observed 9865 people in 53 unique venues during 229 observation intervals during 6 observation periods. Correct face covering use was 87.2% overall and lowest at semi-outdoor venues such as transit hubs (78.1%) and the pick-up curb of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (69.0%). Correct face covering use was lowest among men (PR = 1.42; 95% CI, 1.27-1.58) and among people aged 2-11 years (PR = 2.74; 95% CI, 2.37-3.17) and 12-17 years (PR = 1.36; 95% CI, 1.07-1.72). Compliance declined among adults aged ≥60 years and among younger age groups before vaccine eligibility. CONCLUSIONS: Overall compliance with the statewide face mask mandate in King County was high. Layered mitigation strategies, including but not limited to the use of face coverings, and methods to assess adherence to them are crucial to preventing SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

Navigating the Storm of COVID-19 Literature Through Academic-Practice Partnership in Washington State: The COVID-19 Literature Situation Report.

CONTEXT: Shortly after the first COVID-19 case in the United States was identified in Washington, the Washington State Department of Health (WA DOH) determined that real-time knowledge of scientific findings related to SARS-CoV-2 was critical for an effective response. Epidemiologists at the WA DOH established the Daily Literature Situation Report (Lit Rep), within the agency's incident management team, to support public health and state leaders in evidence-based decision making. However, from January to May, the scale of the pandemic response and daily volume of emerging information grew beyond the capacity of the WA DOH epidemiology team tasked with gathering, reviewing, summarizing, and disseminating it daily. OBJECTIVE: To ensure public health leaders maintained awareness of the rapidly evolving scientific literature during the pandemic to support evidence-based practice. DESIGN: The WA DOH contracted the University of Washington (UW) Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness to assemble a team of faculty and students to continue producing the Lit Rep. MAIN OUTCOME: In addition to the daily Lit Rep, the UW team developed in-depth reports addressing questions from public health leadership and further evolved the methodology for the daily reports to support long-term sustainability and broader accessibility. RESULTS: Throughout its existence, the Lit Rep had summarized more than 4300 articles from more than 150 000 citations and had more than 5600 subscribers from public health practice, academia, and the general public, both domestic and international. CONCLUSIONS: The flexible Lit Rep model sets a standard for responding to emerging public health threats and communicating complex scientific information to government leaders, public health staff, and other interested parties. The WA DOH and the UW have exemplified how a mutually beneficial partnership can be established to support more effective public health practice based on real-time evidence both during a crisis and potentially for future public health challenges.