Countries that imposed face mask mandate saw reduction in Covid-19 death cases: Study

Even as the world grips with the threat of the new Omicron variant of the Covid-19, a new study has found that countries that imposed stringent face mask mandates witnessed significantly slower mortality as opposed to the nations that did not imply strict rules.

Research that appeared in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier, studied the impact of face mask rules on Covid-19 mortality in 44 countries with a combined population of nearly one billion. The study found that over time, the number of Covid-19 related death cases significantly reduced in countries that imposed face mask mandate, compared to those that did not. The study indicates that masks provide an extra layer of protection that could help prevent unnecessary Covid-19 deaths.

Out of the 44 countries studied, 27 nations were those that imposed face mask policies, and 17 were those that did not impose any strict face mask mandate. The top 50 countries in the UNDP Human Development Index list were chosen for this study. However, the United States and Canada were not part of this research due to the lack of a unified national policy on health in the two countries. Apart from these, New Zealand, Australia, Chile and Argentina were also omitted to avoid potential season ability characteristics.

Researchers looked at Covid-19 deaths between February 15, 2020, the date of the 1st confirmed death in the list of countries, to May 31, 2020, when nations began to lift lockdown measures.

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The study revealed that a total of 21,67,664 Covid-19 deaths were reported in these 44 countries during the above mentioned period, of which 12,53,757 deaths were reported in countries without face mask policies, and 9,13,907 deaths were recorded in nations with face mask rules.

According to the study, the average Covid-19 mortality per million population during the same period stood at 48.40 in countries with face mask mandate, as opposed to 288.54 in nations without face mask policies. Interestingly, although the countries that did not impose strict face mask rules witnessed a lower Covid-19 daily mortality at the start, over a period of time, the death rate rapidly surpassed the nations that made face masks compulsory.

With governments world over scrambling to ensure full vaccination of the population, this study provides yet another insight on the importance of wearing face masks as a preventive measure against Covid-19.