Skip to main content

Table 2 Estimated cases and hospitalizations averted due to mask mandate for various levels of mask effectivenessa

From: Estimated public health impact of concurrent mask mandate and vaccinate-or-test requirement in Illinois, October to December 2021

Mask Effectiveness, Pre-mandateb

Mask Effectiveness, Post-mandate

Number of Cases Averted (Number of Hospitalizations Avertedc)

3.6%

6.1%

149,817 (3,028)

5.0%

58,233 (1,177)

3.6%

7.1%

232,791 (4,705)

5.6%

83,250 (1,683)

7.2%

12.2%

415,085 (8,390)

10.0%

139,155 (2,813)

7.2%

14.2%

734,649 (14,849)

11.2%

211,125 (4,267)

10.8%

18.3%

901,144 (18,214)

15.0%

255,426 (5,163)

10.8%

21.3%

1,820,764 (36,801)

16.8%

417,605 (8,441)

  1. aSee Appendix Table A1 for the Results from all 24 scenarios of combinations of pre-and post-mandate mask effectiveness
  2. bAssumes the levels of mask-wearing would have remained the same in the absence of the mask mandate
  3. cNumber of hospitalizations averted is calculated by multiplying the estimated number of averted cases by the infection-to-hospitalization ratio, which was assumed to be approximately 2.02% during that period [26]. Infection-to-hospitalization ratio is assumed not to vary with the assumed level of mask efficacy