Wearing a mask has become a unique problem in the US, which is in the midst of a coronavirus crisis that seems to be out of control every day.
However, a recent Goldman Sachs report projects that the lack of a national policy requiring the use of facial coatings across the United States is giving an unnecessary blow to the national economy.
A team of economists led by Jan Hatzius, Goldman’s chief economist, argues that a national face mask mandate could partially replace renewed blockades, as COVID-19 inflections erupt in several southern and western states in the US. That “otherwise would subtract 5% of gross domestic product.” (See attached table):
Goldman’s team attempted to explore the link between wearing masks to protect against the transmission of drops that transmit the COVID-19 infection, with the team looking at three key elements:
- A US regional panel linking the growth rate of infections and deaths to the introduction of the state facial mask mandate
- A large cross-section at the country level in which we link cumulative infections and deaths to the delay between the start of the spread and the introduction of a face mask mandate
- A smaller panel at the country level in which we relate the growth rate of infections and deaths to delayed use of masks.
“We started by showing that a national mandate would likely significantly increase the use of masks, especially in states like Florida and Texas, where masks remain largely voluntary to date,” the Goldman researchers write in their 11-page report.
Read:Why do so many Americans refuse to wear face masks? Politics is part of it, but only part
Their data showed that countries failing to achieve widespread use of masking see both infections and deaths increasing:
The Goldman report comes as Florida, Texas, California and Arizona, the states that have explained much of the recent surge in cases in the United States, imposed new restrictions and overturned their plans to reopen.
There are now 10.4 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, and at least 509,706 people have died, according to data added by Johns Hopkins University. The United States continues to lead the world, with a case count of 2.68 million and a death toll of 129,545.
On Monday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, said the pandemic “is not even close to being over.”
Still, the use of masks in the United States has been lax and not uniform. Hugo’s Tacos, a Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles, temporarily closed its doors, alleging that its workers were being intimidated for applying mask-wearing protocols in their restaurants.
LA, in particular, has seen an explosion of COVID-19 cases, with around 100,000 cases and more than 3,300 deaths.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has expanded its mask guide to say that Americans should wear them in all “public settings when they are around people outside their home.” He had previously recommended wearing a mask in places like supermarkets and drugstores, when it is difficult to maintain social distance.
On Monday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said President Donald Trump, who had strongly opposed wearing masks, despite public health recommendations, should “put on a mask,” at a press conference. Monday.
“We know it works. We have shown that it works in New York state, ”Cuomo said, asking the president to issue an executive order requiring people to wear face covers in public.
The president’s opinion on the use of masks is undermining the efforts of public health officials to wear face covers and other personal protective equipment, or PPE, to stop the resurgence of the infection.
White House press secretary Kaleigh McEnany said Monday during a press conference that the president “encourages people to make any decision that is best for their safety, but told me he has no problem with masks and to do what your local jurisdiction requires. ” of you.”
“It is your choice to wear a mask. It is the personal choice of any individual on whether to wear a mask or not, ”she said.
Concern about the resurgence of the disease has also created turmoil in equity markets after the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
DJIA
,
the S&P 500 index
SPX
and the Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP
it all sprang from the lows in late March thanks to the hope that the United States has managed to control the outbreak, which bullish investors assumed could help fuel a so-called V-shaped or sharp economic recovery.
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