CDC: 85% of COVID-19 patients report ‘always’ or ‘often’ wearing masks

Editor's Note

Recently published data from a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that 70.6% of COVID-19-positive patients report “always” wearing a mask, 14.4% report “often” wearing a mask, and 3.9% report “never” wearing a mask (See Table: Reported use of cloth face covering or mask 14 days before illness onset.).

The study compared case patients who tested positive (154) and control patients who tested negative (160).

The study also finds that eating and drinking on-site at bars and restaurants increases the risk of contracting COVID-19, with two times as many COVID-19-positive patients reporting dining at restaurants than COVID-19-negative patients.

Study participants were randomly sampled from 11 academic healthcare systems that are part of the Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness in the Critically Ill Network, between July 1 and July 29.