Not good news for anti-face mask activists: In Kansas, a link has been shown between mandatory face mask requirements and 50% fewer corona 'cases'. I assume that 'cases' actually refer to hospital admissions, not test results.
This difference was found by comparing counties with and without a face mask requirement. The obligation was introduced at the beginning of July and counties could decide not to participate (opt-out option, we would say, more of a very dire advice).
These are differences of less than 10 cases per day (per county?), so the absolute numbers may not be large, but they are statistically significant.
50% is a much larger effect than can be concluded from many other studies. That is surprising. [This is a courteous way of saying that it seems to me to be a strange, not to say bullshit, study]. It won't get rid of the virus, but that dampening effect would be very welcome.
In andere krantenberichten heb ik inmiddels gezien dat de Amerikanen "cases" ook gebruiken voor positieve testen. Dan houdt het alweer op. Als ik daarnaast ook nog lees "Trump has shown disdain for people wearing a mask" dan blijkt ook wel weer dat alles in dat land gepolitiseerd wordt.
In the graph below is red: states that did NOT participate in the face mask obligation in July, blue states that DID participate.
Questions
What I would like to know about this graph:
- Where does that huge red peak in May come from? And precisely in the counties that would later not make face masks mandatory? Were everyone else already wearing face masks back then? Is that a coincidence?
- Is that peak in May also included in the statistical Before/After comparison? The difference between red/blue before the obligation appears to be greater than the difference after the obligation.
- How is the blue bump in July explained?
I saw the message on maurice.nl, but he hardly explains it himself, especially when Ab Osterhaus was recovering last night. My comments under his messages have never been answered before, so I'll ask the questions via FB.
Any sensible answers (I already know the opinions about face masks) would be appreciated on Facebook.
Left
The video from Kansas:
Message from Maurice de Hond (including the link to the video):
