The governor of Missouri held a press conference in Jefferson City.
The state of Missouri remained hidden as the Delta wave rose last summer. The state Department of Health and Senior Services studied the experiment that was created by four jurisdictions restoring their mask mandates. In cities and counties with mandates, masks reduced infections and deaths from COVID.
According to a new report from the Missouri Independent, the data was kept from the public.
The data was first requested by Alex Tuttle. Can you give me examples of local mandates and how they affected the spread of COVID in my area?
DHSS had an answer for him in 48 hours. The Director of the DHSS wrote to say that the communities where masks were required had a lower positivity rate per 100,000 and had lower death rates.
Researchers from the University of Missouri detected the variant in wastewater. The state issued a hotspot advisory on July 19 after a wave of new infections were reported. St. Louis County and St. Louis County both declared mask mandates.
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COVID rates were about the same across the state before the wave hit. The curves began to change after the mandates went into effect. The rate of increase in new cases began to decline in masked areas before peaking in August.
Just before the governor's office requested the data, the analysis spanned from the end of April to the end of October. The average case rate in masked jurisdictions was 27 percent lower than in the rest of the country. Death rates were lower in masked communities with 0.2 per 100,000 residents per day.
The data has been in the governor's office for a month but hasn't been released to the public. The DHSS analysis and related emails came to light after a request by the Missouri Independent.
In the past, the governor has railed against masks. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt is continuing his lawsuits against several counties over their mask mandates.
Jackson County's legislature voted to end its mandate three weeks ago, after Kansas City's mandate expired. St. Louis County and St. Louis have maintained their mandates despite the lawsuits.
The data confirms what our public health experts have been saying. Reducing community transmission can be accomplished with masks.
