Association of social distancing and masking with risk of COVID-19

Kwon, Sohee; Ad, Joshi; Lo, Chung‐Mau; Da, Drew; Nguyen, Long H.; Chen, Guo; Ma, Wulin; Rs, Mehta; Et, Warner; Astley, Carolyn; Merino, Jordi; Murray, Benjamin; Wolf, Jonathan; Ourselin, Sébastien; Cj, Steves; Td, Spector; Je, Hart; Song, Mingyang; VoPham, Trang; At, Chan

doi:10.1101/2020.11.11.20229500

Cited by 11 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The interaction of these effects is exemplified in a US study of participants enrolled and using a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) smartphone application. Individuals living in communities with the greatest social distancing had a 31% lower risk of predicted COVID‐19 compared with those living in communities with poor social distancing; even among individuals living in a community with poor social distancing, self‐reported masking was associated with a 63% reduced risk of predicted COVID‐19 10 …”

mentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Individuals living in communities with the greatest social distancing had a 31% lower risk of predicted COVID-19 compared with those living in communities with poor social distancing; even among individuals living in a community with poor social distancing, self-reported masking was associated with a 63% reduced risk of predicted COVID-19. 10 Even so the added value of masks to social distancing remains unclear. The DANMASK study 11 wherein all participants were encouraged to socially distance in public reported only a 0.3% between-group difference over 1 month in seroconversion rates, between no mask recommendation or a recommendation to wear a mask when outside the home for more than 3 h among other people (1.8% vs 2.1% seroconversion).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A similar phenomenon has been reported in Hong Kong and the USA. 14 Importantly, in real-world modelling, it appears that regardless of whether active case finding, contact tracing and quarantine are implemented, maximum benefit occurs through generalized, community-wide interventions such as mask-wearing and distancing, 10,15 which function as a 'force multiplier'. Thus, no single intervention can replace an array of defences against transmission that range from public health and government interventions such as test, trace and isolate strategies to individual behaviours which are essential to maximize virus suppression.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Social distancing as a strategy to prevent respiratory virus infections

Jenkins

Sunjaya

2020

Respirology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

mentioning

confidence: 94%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Social distancing as a strategy to prevent respiratory virus infections

Jenkins

Sunjaya

2020

Respirology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Inconsistent mask wearing policies and limited enforcement mechanisms have resulted in differential rates of mask uptake across the United States (2)(3)(4). Some ecological and individual studies have found associations with reported mask wearing and changes in the SARS-CoV-2 transmission rate or self-reported positivity (1,4,5). To date, the majority of these studies have only asked, general questions about whether or not a person wears a mask when outside the home with options capturing varying degrees of adherence (e.g., always, sometimes, occasionally, and never) (5).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some ecological and individual studies have found associations with reported mask wearing and changes in the SARS-CoV-2 transmission rate or self-reported positivity (1,4,5). To date, the majority of these studies have only asked, general questions about whether or not a person wears a mask when outside the home with options capturing varying degrees of adherence (e.g., always, sometimes, occasionally, and never) (5). A number of other studies in individuals being monitored as part of a contact tracing program have reported that not wearing a mask increases the risk of infection but it is not clear how individuals with a known positive contact may differ from the general population, particularly those without known exposure (6).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Imprecise assessment of mask use may obscure associations with SARS-CoV-2 positivity

Bérubé

Clipman

Mehta

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Masks are effective measures to prevent the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, however, lack of a national mandate coupled with poor adherence has led to suboptimal levels of transmission reduction. Although data has suggested that mask adherence is high, few studies have captured details on how mask wearing changes with activities and how these behaviors are associated with SARS-CoV-2 positivity. We recruited an online sample of 3,058 respondents from three US states (MD, FL, IL; n∼1000/state) between September 16 - October 15, 2020. The median age of the sample was 47; 53% were female, 56% were white and 22% were working outside the home. Seventy three percent of the sample reported always wearing a mask indoors and outdoors based on local guidelines, however, 78% of participants who reported always wearing a mask reported taking their mask off when outside the home. While overall masking according to guidelines was not significantly associated with SARS-CoV-2 positivity, sometimes, often or always removing a mask during activities were significantly associated with SARS-CoV-2 positivity (adjusted odds ratio for always vs never removing mask: 9.92; 95% CI: 1.16 – 85.1). These findings suggest that masks were most effective when worn without removal reflecting the need for consistent use.

show abstract

Nine-month course of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in individuals with COVID-19 infection

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background The continual course of the pandemic points to the importance of studies on the rate and durability of protective immunity after infection or vaccination. Aims In this study, we aimed to monitor anti-nucleocapsid (N) and anti-spike (S) antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 nearly 9 months duration after infection. Methods Anti-nucleocapsid (N) (at 11–15-20–29-38 weeks) and anti-spike antibodies (at 11 and 38 weeks) against SARS-CoV-2 were monitored during 38 weeks after the initial symptoms of COVID-19. Results Of 37 cases between 18 and 57 years old, 54% were women. The findings showed that anti-N antibodies decreased significantly after the 15th week (between 15 and 20 weeks, p = 0.016; 20–29 weeks, p = 0.0009; and 29–38 weeks, p = 0.049). At the 38th week, mean antibody levels decreased 35% compared to the 11th week, and 8% of the cases turned negative results. Anti-N antibody average level was 56.48 on the 11th week (the cut-off index threshold ≥ 1). It was estimated statistically that it would decrease to an average of 20.48 in weeks 53–62. In females, average antibody levels of all measurements were lower than males ( p > 0.05). Anti-S antibody levels 14% increased at 38th week compared to 11th week (quantitative positivity threshold ≥ 0.8 U/ml), and no cases were negative at 38th week. Conclusions Patients had ≥ 90% positivity after at least 9 months of symptoms, both anti-N and anti-S antibodies. In all samples, both anti-N and anti-S antibody levels were lower in females. The findings suggest that the quantitative values of anti-S antibodies remained high for at least 9 months and could provide protection.

show abstract

Association of social distancing and masking with risk of COVID-19

Cited by 11 publications

References 28 publications

Social distancing as a strategy to prevent respiratory virus infections

Social distancing as a strategy to prevent respiratory virus infections

Imprecise assessment of mask use may obscure associations with SARS-CoV-2 positivity

Nine-month course of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in individuals with COVID-19 infection

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About