The Association between Wearing a Mask and COVID-19

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Nobuaki Shime¹  Junko Tanaka²  Hiroki Ohge³  Tatsuhiko Kubo⁴  Mana Sugimura⁴  Yui Yumiya⁴  Odgerel Chimed-Ochir⁴  Takemasa Sakaguchi⁵  Toshiro Takafuta⁶  Michi Mimori⁷  Masao Kuwabara⁸  Eisaku Kishita⁹  Toshimasa Asahara⁹ 

[1] Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8551, Japan;Department of Epidemiology, Infectious Disease Control and Prevention, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan;Department of Infectious Diseases, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima 734-8551, Japan;Department of Public Health and Health Policy, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan;Department of Virology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan;Hiroshima City Funairi Citizens Hospital, Hiroshima 730-0844, Japan;Hiroshima City Health and Welfare Bureau, Hiroshima 730-8586, Japan;Hiroshima Prefectural Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hiroshima 730-8511, Japan;Hiroshima Prefectural Health and Welfare Bureau, Hiroshima 730-8511, Japan;

关键词: COVID-19;    J-SPEED;    mask;    prevention;    surveillance;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph18179131

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

With the widespread and increasing number of cases of Coronavirus Disease (2019) globally, countries have been taking preventive measures against this pandemic. However, there is no universal agreement across cultures on whether wearing face masks are an effective physical intervention against disease transmission. We investigated the relationship between mask wearing and COVID-19 among close contacts of COVID-19 patients in the Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. In the Hiroshima Prefecture, a COVID-19 form adapted from the reporting form, “Japanese Surveillance in Post-Extreme Emergencies and Disasters”, was developed to collect data from COVID-19 patients’ close contacts under active epidemiological surveillance at Public Health Centers. The relative risk of COVID-19 for mask users versus non-mask users was calculated. A total of 820 interviewees were included in the analysis and 53.3% of them responded that they wore masks. Non-mask users were infected at a rate of 16.4%, while mask users were infected at a rate of 7.1%. Those who wore masks were infected at a rate of 0.4 times that of those who did not wear masks. (RR = 0.4, 95%CI = 0.3–0.6; Adjusted RR = 0.6, 95%CI = 0.3–0.9). These findings implied that COVID-19 could be avoided to a certain degree by wearing a mask.

【 授权许可】

Unknown