Mask Mandates and Infection Rates. Is There a Correlation?

Do Masks Really Work? Here's What the Charts Tell Us

Matt Margolis

Oct 06, 2020 11:28 AM EST

The million-dollar question right now, with regards to COVID-19, is “Do masks work?”

President Trump’s recent COVID-19 diagnosis has many of his haters crying foul over his attitude about masks. They blame that for his catching the virus.

Those same people then had a hissy fit when Trump did a drive-by outside Walter Reed in a vehicle where everyone inside was wearing a mask.

So, the question is, do masks prevent the spread of COVID-19? The best way to answer this question is to look at how mask mandates have impacted infection rates. So, let’s do that.

Here’s a chart showing daily new cases of COVID-19 in Hawaii, compared with the state’s mask mandates:

Here’s a chart showing daily new cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, and San Diego counties in California, compared with the respective county’s mask mandates:

Let’s try another region of the country. Here’s a chart showing daily new cases of COVID-19 in Kansas, compared with the state’s mask mandates:

Now here’s a chart showing daily new cases of COVID-19 in West Virginia, compared with the state’s mask mandate:

See any correlation? Me neither. What about outside the United States? Let’s take a look.

Now here’s a chart showing daily new cases of COVID-19 in Peru, compared with the country’s mask mandate:

Now here’s a chart showing daily new cases of COVID-19 in Spain, compared with the country’s mask mandates:

And finally, here’s a chart showing daily new cases of COVID-19 in France, compared with the country’s mask mandates:

In case it isn’t obvious, these charts fail to show any correlation between mask mandates (which presumably increase the wearing of masks) and reductions in COVID-19 infections. If you look at all of the available charts over at Rational Ground, you’ll see there are some instances of infection rates declining after a mask mandate was imposed, but those mandates were put in place after infection rates were already on the decline. For example, this chart showing New York City’s daily new deaths from COVID-19:

Like countries that experience that experienced huge spikes early in the pandemic, New York City’s daily new cases followed roughly the same pattern.

There are more graphs over at Rational Ground you can look at, and you can decide for yourself, and then ask why Joe Biden seems intent on imposing an unconstitutional federal mask mandate.