A new study reveals that there was a "significant decline in daily COVID-19 growth rate after mandating facial covers in public."
The study authors estimated that between 230,000 and 450,000 cases of the coronavirus were possibly averted in a two-month period after 15 states and the District of Columbia mandated the use of face masks. The researchers examined data between March 31 and May 22, 2020.
According to Axios, the authors also found that in the 20 states where only employees were required to wear masks, the growth rate in cases did not decline.
Newsweek reported that as the number of novel coronavirus cases doubled Tuesday in Texas, with 3,400 new cases reported over Monday's tally of 1,700, nine mayors urged mandatory use of face coverings to curb the spread.
"Many people in many of our cities are still refusing to wear these face coverings even though these coverings are scientifically proven to help the disease from spreading," the mayors noted.
A recent article that appeared in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society A said that wearing face masks in public all the time could help wipe out COVID-19 and prevent future pandemics, according to Newsweek.
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