Abstract
By September 2020, COVID-19 had claimed the lives of almost 1 million people worldwide, including more than 400,000 in the U.S. and Europe [1] To slow the spread of the virus, health officials advised social distancing, regular handwashing, and wearing a face covering [2]. We hypothesized that public adherence to the health guidance would be influenced by prevailing social norms, and the prevalence of these behaviors among others. We focused on mask-wearing behavior during fall 2020, and coded livestream public webcam footage of 1,200 individuals across seven cities. Results showed that only 50% of participants were correctly wearing a mask in public, and that this percentage varied as a function of the mask-wearing behavior of close and distant others in the immediate physical vicinity. How social normative information might be used to increase mask-wearing behavior is discussed. “Cloth face coverings are one of the most powerful weapons we have to slow and stop the spread of the virus—particularly when used universally within a community setting” CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield in July 2020.
Highlights
During its first six months, the global COVID-19 pandemic killed more than a million people
Reliable data about the contagiousness of the virus and exactly how it was transmitted was initially scarce and conflicting, but by June 2020 both the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) were sending clear and consistent messages that behavioral measures such as staying at least 6-feet (~2 meters) from others who don’t live with you, regularly washing your hands, and wearing a facial mask covering your nose and mouth were effective ways to curb the transmission of the virus
Despite contemporaneous national survey data showing that 74% of American adults claimed to wear a mask in public, we observed that only 51% of focal participants across the seven locations were correctly wearing a mask covering their nose and mouth
Summary
During its first six months, the global COVID-19 pandemic killed more than a million people. Reliable data about the contagiousness of the virus and exactly how it was transmitted was initially scarce and conflicting, but by June 2020 both the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) were sending clear and consistent messages that behavioral measures such as staying at least 6-feet (~2 meters) from others who don’t live with you, regularly washing your hands, and wearing a facial mask covering your nose and mouth were effective ways to curb the transmission of the virus. Despite an initial slowing during widespread lockdown and stay-at-home orders, COVID-19 infections continued to grow, and by October 2020 had been transmitted to more than 7.4 million Americans, killing 210,000. Despite evidence from scientific and global public health data about its effectiveness, wearing a mask or cloth facial covering became a source of contention in the U.S and elsewhere
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