New research looking at COVID-19 caseloads in seven Cincinnati area schools attempted to learn whether universal masking really makes a difference. The study, lead by Katherine Auger, MD, of the Department of Pediatrics in the UC College of Medicine and associate chair of outcomes in the Department of Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's shows that mask mandates are effective. In a story published on Cincinnati.com, the study found that the rate of students getting diagnosed with COVID-19 was 78% higher in the partially masked schools than those that had universal masking.
It also showed that the rate of students being quarantined was 60% higher in the partially masked schools and that the ratio of quarantines per COVID-19 case was 30% higher in the partially masked schools.
