Page 18 - IJPS-11-5

International Journal of
Population Studies Human behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic

shown in Figure 11, there are huge differences in the ability COVID-19 Forecasting Team (2020) reported a study
of different masks to block aerosol droplets (Fischer et al., that simulated the effect of mask wearing in the US. They
2020). For Omicron variants, surgical and cloth masks did reported that 470,000–580,000 people would die from
not offer protection against infection, but still provided COVID-19 by February 28, 2021, if states continued their
some protection against its spread. present behavior of 49% of the population wearing masks.

Bagheri et al. (2021) reported mask effectiveness based Significant lives would be saved from increased mask
on respiratory particle size, exhalation flow physics, leakage usage; 95% mask usage enabled 85,000–171,000 additional
based on types and fits of face masks, ambient particle lives to be saved, while 85% mask usage enabled 61,000–
shrinkage due to evaporation, rehydration, inhalability, 133,000 additional lives to be saved. From Our World In
and deposition in susceptible airways. In Figure 12, “FFP2 Data, 520,000 died from COVID-19 in the US by January
w/o adjustment” is the same as a KN-95 mask, and “FFP2 28, 2021.
with adjustment” is the same as an N-95 mask. There are People of color wore masks more than White people.
two messages from Figure 12. First, surgical masks, even Nonetheless, due to poorer medical care and different
with adjusted straps, are not very effective. N-95 masks jobs that had higher COVID-19 exposure rates, they had
provide more protection than KN-95 masks because their higher death rates. Budzyn et al. (2021) reported the mean
straps facilitate a tight face fit. Second, when an infected county-level change in daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000
person wears a mask, it provides slightly more protection children and adolescents aged <18 years in counties with
than when an uninfected person wears a mask. (198) and without (322) school mask requirements before
There were many studies on the effectiveness of and after the start of the 2021–2022 school year, as shown
wearing masks in reducing COVID-19 cases. The IHME in Figure 13.
The most effective NPI after lockdowns was masks.
Nonetheless, as discussed earlier, many people did not
wear masks, particularly Republicans and the ultra-
orthodox from many religions. An August 2020 PEW
survey reported mask usage rates by political party, as
shown in Table 5.
As noted earlier, Republican states had higher
COVID-19 case rates and deaths than Democratic states.
Part of this was due to the difference in mask mandates,
which is illustrated in Figure 14.
However, masks also have negative consequences. They
are uncomfortable, slightly hinder breathing (though they
do not impede exercise), impair facial recognition, and
reduce speech recognition due to the lack of visual cues. In
Figure 11. Mask relative effectiveness at blocking aerosol droplets. Image addition, they can cause some skin problems, particularly
obtained from Fischer et al., 2020. in health professionals who use them often. Mohanty
et al. (2024) noted that worldwide face mask usage reached
129 billion per month early during the pandemic. When
discarded, they impacted the environment in many ways
and complicated waste disposal.
6.2.3.2. Social distancing
Social distancing limits physical closeness and contact with
other people to avoid catching or transmitting an infectious
disease. The question, of course, is what is close? An 1896
droplet emission study (Flugge, 1896) of speech, coughing,
or sneezing proposed a 1–2-m safe distance. It was based on
the distance over which sampled, visible droplets containing
pathogens stayed in the air. In the 1940s, close-up, still
Figure 12. Infection risk from talking for 20 min while standing 1.5 m images of sneezing, coughing, or talking were added to the
apart. Image obtained from Bagheri et al. (2021). data. A 1948 study on hemolytic streptococci by Howard

Volume 11 Issue 5 (2025) 12 https://doi.org/10.36922/IJPS025110040