Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

November 13, 2020

Association of Social Distancing and Masking with Risk of COVID-19

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  • [Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] People living in communities with the greatest social distancing had a 31% lower risk of predicted COVID-19 compared to those living in communities with poor social distancing, according to a prospective study of 198,077 participants using the COVID Symptom Study smartphone app. In addition, among people living in communities with poor social distancing, self-reported mask wearing at least some of the time was associated with a 63% reduced risk of predicted COVID-19. Predicted COVID-19 rates were based upon a combination of demographic information and symptoms, which was used as a proxy for a positive SARS-CoV-2 test due to the small fraction of positive tests among app users.

Kwon et al. (Nov 13, 2020). Association of Social Distancing and Masking with Risk of COVID-19. MedRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.11.11.20229500