Dataset Information

Influence of Mask Wearing during COVID-19 Surge and Non-Surge Time Periods in Two K-12 Public School Districts in Georgia, USA.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Into the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic and the second year of in-person learning for many K-12 schools in the United States, the benefits of mitigation strategies in this setting are still unclear. We compare COVID-19 cases in school-aged children and adolescents between a school district with a mandatory mask-wearing policy to one with an optional mask-wearing policy, during and after the peak period of the Delta variant wave of infection.

Methods

COVID-19 cases during the Delta variant wave (August 2021) and post the wave (October 2021) were obtained from public health records. Cases of K-12 students, stratified by grade level (elementary, middle, and high school) and school districts across two counties, were included in the statistical and spatial analyses. COVID-19 case rates were determined and spatially mapped. Regression was performed adjusting for specific covariates.

Results

Mask-wearing was associated with lower COVID-19 cases during the peak Delta variant period; overall, regardless of the Delta variant period, higher COVID-19 rates were seen in older aged students.

Conclusion

This study highlights the need for more layered prevention strategies and policies that take into consideration local community transmission levels, age of students, and vaccination coverage to ensure that students remain safe at school while optimizing their learning environment.

SUBMITTER: Lin X

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10177845 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Influence of Mask Wearing during COVID-19 Surge and Non-Surge Time Periods in Two K-12 Public School Districts in Georgia, USA.

Lin Xiting X Ali Fatima F Leong Traci T Edelson Mike M Hampton Samira S Zuo Zoey Z Li Chaohua C Rice Chris C Yan Fengxia F Baltrus Peter T PT Randolph Sonya S Immergluck Lilly Cheng LC

International journal of environmental research and public health 20230504 9

<h4>Background</h4>Into the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic and the second year of in-person learning for many K-12 schools in the United States, the benefits of mitigation strategies in this setting are still unclear. We compare COVID-19 cases in school-aged children and adolescents between a school district with a mandatory mask-wearing policy to one with an optional mask-wearing policy, during and after the peak period of the Delta variant wave of infection.<h4>Methods</h4>COVID-19 cases ...[more]

PMID: 37174233

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundFace masks have become commonplace across the USA because of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic. Although evidence suggests that masks help to curb the spread of the disease, there is little empirical research at the population level. We investigate the association between self-reported mask-wearing, physical distancing, and SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the USA, along with the effect of statewide mandates on mask uptake.MethodsSerial cross-sectional surveys were administered via a web platform to randomly surveyed US individuals aged 13 years and older, to query self-reports of face mask-wearing. Survey responses were combined with instantaneous reproductive number (Rt) estimates from two publicly available sources, the outcome of interest. Measures of physical distancing, community demographics, and other potential sources of confounding (from publicly available sources) were also assessed. We fitted multivariate logistic regression models to estimate the association between mask-wearing and community transmission control (Rt<1). Additionally, mask-wearing in 12 states was evaluated 2 weeks before and after statewide mandates.Findings378 207 individuals responded to the survey between June 3 and July 27, 2020, of which 4186 were excluded for missing data. We observed an increasing trend in reported mask usage across the USA, although uptake varied by geography. A logistic model controlling for physical distancing, population demographics, and other variables found that a 10% increase in self-reported mask-wearing was associated with an increased odds of transmission control (odds ratio 3·53, 95% CI 2·03-6·43). We found that communities with high reported mask-wearing and physical distancing had the highest predicted probability of transmission control. Segmented regression analysis of reported mask-wearing showed no statistically significant change in the slope after mandates were introduced; however, the upward trend in reported mask-wearing was preserved.InterpretationThe widespread reported use of face masks combined with physical distancing increases the odds of SARS-CoV-2 transmission control. Self-reported mask-wearing increased separately from government mask mandates, suggesting that supplemental public health interventions are needed to maximise adoption and help to curb the ongoing epidemic.FundingFlu Lab, Google.org (via the Tides Foundation), National Institutes for Health, National Science Foundation, Morris-Singer Foundation, MOOD, Branco Weiss Fellowship, Ending Pandemics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USA).

Dataset Information

Influence of Mask Wearing during COVID-19 Surge and Non-Surge Time Periods in Two K-12 Public School Districts in Georgia, USA.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Influence of Mask Wearing during COVID-19 Surge and Non-Surge Time Periods in Two K-12 Public School Districts in Georgia, USA.

Similar Datasets

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