Face Masks Considerably Reduce COVID-19 Cases in Germany: A Synthetic Control Method Approach
- Funded by IZA - Institute of Labor Economics
- Total publications:0 publications
Grant number: unknown
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Key facts
Disease
COVID-19start year
-99Known Financial Commitments (USD)
$0Funder
IZA - Institute of Labor EconomicsPrincipal Investigator
Timo Mitze, Reinhold Kosfeld, Johannes Rode, Klaus Wälde…Research Location
GermanyLead Research Institution
N/AResearch Priority Alignment
N/A
Research Category
Infection prevention and control
Research Subcategory
Barriers, PPE, environmental, animal and vector control measures
Special Interest Tags
N/A
Study Type
Unspecified
Clinical Trial Details
N/A
Broad Policy Alignment
Pending
Age Group
Not Applicable
Vulnerable Population
Not applicable
Occupations of Interest
Not applicable
Abstract
This study uses the synthetic control method to analyze the effect of face masks on the spread of Covid-19 in Germany. The identification approach exploits regional variation in the point in time when face masks became compulsory. Depending on the region we analyse, the authors find that face masks reduced the cumulative number of registered Covid-19 cases between 2.3% and 13% over a period of 10 days after they became compulsory. Assessing the credibility of the various estimates, the researchers conclude that face masks reduce the daily growth rate of reported infections by around 40%.