Lifting Statewide Mask Mandates and COVID-19 Cases: A Synthetic Control Study.

IMPORTANCE: As states reopened their economies state and local officials made decisions on policies and restrictions that had an impact on the evolution of the pandemic and the health of the citizens. Some states made the decision to lift mask mandates starting spring 2021. Data-driven methods help evaluate the appropriateness and consequences of such decisions. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of lifting the mask mandate with changes in the cumulative coronavirus case rate. DESIGN: Synthetic control study design on lifting mask mandate in the state of Iowa implemented on February 7, 2021. SETTING: Daily state-level data from the COVID-19 Community Profile Report published by the US Department of Health & Human Services, COVIDcast dataset of the Delphi Research Group, and Google Community Mobility Reports. EXPOSURES AND OUTCOME: Mask mandate policy lift at the state level. State-day observations of the cumulative case rate measured as the cumulative number of new cases per 100,000 people in the previous 7 days. RESULTS: The cumulative case rate in Iowa increased by 20%-30% within 3 weeks of lifting the mask mandate as compared with a synthetic control unit. This association appeared to be related to people, in fact, reducing their mask-wearing habits. CONCLUSIONS: Lifting the mask mandate in Iowa was associated with an increase in new COVID-19 cases. Caution should be applied when making this type of policy decision before having achieved a more stable control of the pandemic.

Significance and Vision of Nutrient Recovery for Sustainable City Food Systems in Germany by 2050

Within this paper, the authors explain their transdisciplinary vision of nutrient recovery for sustainable urban plant cultivation in Germany from different but complementary perspectives (SUSKULT vision). Nowadays, the demand for fresh, healthy, locally and sustainably produced food in German urban areas is constantly increasing. At the same time, current agricultural systems contribute significantly to exceeding the planetary boundaries. The disruption of the phosphorus and nitrogen cycles in particular stands out from the manifold effects of modern food production on the Earth system. One central issue that will have to be faced in the future is how increased yields in agriculture will be achieved with high-energy requirements in fertilizer production and pollution of water and soil by phosphorus and reactive nitrogen. City region food systems (CRFS) can be a solution to overcome these issues. Nevertheless, to ensure sustainable CRFS, innovative technologies and methods need to be developed, including nutrient and energy recovery and adapted horticultural cultivation methods that fit complex urban dynamics. Such new strategies need to be integrated in long-term social and political transformation processes to enhance acceptance of food produced by recyclates. The joint contribution of experts from the wastewater, horticultural, and political sciences, together with industrial and societal sector actors, is critical to reach these objectives. The overarching goal of SUSKULT’s vision is the establishment of the field of urban circular agricultural production as an innovative sector of the bio-based economy in Germany.