TOPEKA — Counties in Kansas that instituted mask mandates experienced significantly lower rates of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths compared with counties declining to take that precaution, researchers reported in the journal of the American Medical Association.
The study published Wednesday examined outcomes in 15 counties that adopted face-covering orders from mid-July to December and results in 68 counties that chose not to require residents to put on a mask during that period.
Donna Ginther, distinguished professor of economics and director of the Institute for Policy and Social Research at the University of Kansas, said counties that adopted masking as a public health response during that portion of the pandemic reduced cases of infection by 35,000, hospitalizations by 1,500 and deaths by 500.
