Comparing Associations of State Reopening Strategies with COVID-19 Burden.
J Gen Intern Med
; 35(12): 3627-3634, 2020 12.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-834045
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infected over 5 million United States (US) residents resulting in more than 180,000 deaths by August 2020. To mitigate transmission, most states ordered shelter-in-place orders in March and reopening strategies varied.OBJECTIVE:
To estimate excess COVID-19 cases and deaths after reopening compared with trends prior to reopening for two groups of states (1) states with an evidence-based reopening strategy, defined as reopening indoor dining after implementing a statewide mask mandate, and (2) states reopening indoor dining rooms before implementing a statewide mask mandate.DESIGN:
Interrupted time series quasi-experimental study design applied to publicly available secondary data.PARTICIPANTS:
Fifty United States and the District of Columbia.INTERVENTIONS:
Reopening indoor dining rooms before or after implementing a statewide mask mandate. MAINMEASURES:
Outcomes included daily cumulative COVID-19 cases and deaths for each state. KEYRESULTS:
On average, the number of excess cases per 100,000 residents in states reopening without masks is ten times the number in states reopening with masks after 8 weeks (643.1 cases; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 406.9, 879.2 and 62.9 cases; CI = 12.6, 113.1, respectively). Excess cases after 6 weeks could have been reduced by 90% from 576,371 to 63,062 and excess deaths reduced by 80% from 22,851 to 4858 had states implemented mask mandates prior to reopening. Over 50,000 excess deaths were prevented within 6 weeks in 13 states that implemented mask mandates prior to reopening.CONCLUSIONS:
Additional mitigation measures such as mask use counteract the potential growth in COVID-19 cases and deaths due to reopening businesses. This study contributes to the growing evidence that mask usage is essential for mitigating community transmission of COVID-19. States should delay further reopening until mask mandates are fully implemented, and enforcement by local businesses will be critical for preventing potential future closures.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Public Health
/
COVID-19
/
Masks
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
J Gen Intern Med
Journal subject:
Internal Medicine
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S11606-020-06277-0
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS