Masks matter at all times.
But, says Dr. Jennifer Clark, even more so in the early stages of COVID-19 spread to avoid catastrophic surges and hospital capacity issues.
Tulsa and Oklahoma City were the two largest of the handful of municipalities that implemented masking requirements in July — most of which were in the OKC metro area — that flatted the curve in August but couldn’t keep it that way without a statewide mandate or more cities joining individually.
“We didn’t have enough people to kind of blunt that curve,” Clark said. “It’s a game of numbers.”
Clark is an expert on health care delivery sciences and a former hospital administrator. Each Wednesday she offers a data presentation during Project ECHO’s COVID-19 session, a project of OSU Center for Health Sciences.
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Critics might point to the interim state epidemiologist’s Dec. 4 report to say masks are ineffective. COVID-19’s growth in Oklahoma from Sept. 1 to Dec. 1 was 306% in cities with mask ordinances, nearly identical to the 305% in areas without a mandate.
But that same report shows how much mask mandates work — simply having them in place, without even considering compliance — compared to not, particularly when implemented sooner rather than later.
The same analysis, but from a timeframe of a month earlier — Aug. 1 to Dec. 1 — shows the spread in cities with mask ordinances increased 258% compared to 381% in places without them.
“There’s still quite a bit of difference between those that had masks and those that didn’t,” Clark said.
With not enough people wearing masks, staying physically distant and washing their hands, the trends have shot skyward again as hospitals are inundated with COVID-19 patients.
Oklahoma holds the third highest rate of COVID-19 hospital admissions per bed, according to the White House Coronavirus Task Force report dated Dec. 6. There have been 1,180 COVID deaths reported in Oklahoma since Sept. 1; 800 deaths were reported from March through August.
Clark said Oklahoma has a “pretty interesting rural and urban mix” and how people from each intermingle for work and play that contributes to the virus’s spread.
“This is one of the reasons why we’re starting to see closure of the gap,” Clark said in reference to the state epidemiologist report analysis. “Do I think we’ll equal out? No. I think there’ll always be an advantage, and the more that we can push people toward having a mask, the more advantage we’ll have, particularly going into the next surge.”
She said more than 30 municipalities now have mask ordinances that cover about half of Oklahoma’s 4 million residents.
By the end of August, about 1.3 million people lived in cities covered by a face covering requirement, according to MyHealth Access Network CEO Dr. David Kendrick.
Clark said masks will help temper or avoid the next surge or surges.
Oklahoma could come out of the current surge, she said, in early to late January. Although vaccinations will be starting, Clark forecast more virus surges in 2021 until enough people are immune either by vaccine or from natural antibodies after contracting the disease.
Clark said it’s a common misconception for people to think masks will go away as vaccines are distributed.
Unfortunately, she said, masks are here to stay for some time.
“Masks will be required regardless probably for the next couple of years to avoid and blunt any further catastrophe that we’re experiencing now,” Clark said.
To underscore the importance of face coverings, Dr. George Monks, president of the Oklahoma State Medical Association, outlined some of the latest information from the CDC during a Tuesday news conference.
Monks said the CDC’s newest estimates are that 50% of infections are passed on from people who had no symptoms.
He said the CDC recommends universal use of face masks indoors — anytime you are outside of your home. The agency also recommends wearing face masks outside if you can’t stay six feet from others, he said.
“It’s also been proven that face masks prevent the spread of COVID and also protects you from getting COVID, so it works both ways,” Monks said.
Video: Tulsa’s mayor grateful for area cities with mask mandates
Mayor GT Bynum addressed the media on Dec. 9
