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Masks Can Reduce Covid Spread By 40%, German Study Suggests

Masks Can Reduce Covid Spread By 40%, German Study Suggests

(Bloomberg) --

Masks can reduce the growth rate of coronavirus infections by 40%, according to researchers who studied the experience of places in Germany that promoted their use.

After the city of Jena became an early adopter of masks in public transport and shops on April 6, new infections in the municipality of 108,000 almost disappeared. Most of the surrounding state of Thuringia and elsewhere in Germany only adopted mask policies days or weeks later and the outbreak in many of those areas continued to spread, according to a paper from the Institute of Labor Economics in Bonn.

The researchers compared Jena’s trajectory before and after April 6 with that of a weighted-average sample of people from other German towns and cities that comprise a group with similar demographics, local health-care systems and pre-April 6 Covid-19 levels. After Jena introduced widespread masks, new confirmed infections were 25% lower than in the control group. That sort of impact appeared to be even higher when the authors looked at the experience of larger cities in Germany.

Masks appear to be a very cost-efficient method to curb the coronavirus spread, said the authors, including Klaus Waelde from the University of Mainz. The paper appears to be the first analysis that provides field evidence on the ability of masks to curb the spread of Covid-19, the authors said.

Findings may vary in other countries or when different types of masks are scrutinized, the authors said, calling for more research on the subject. They also said the study included various types of masks as German regions didn’t require a specific type.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.