In the past few weeks, more and more countries are lifting the mask measures which might seem contradictory. Is the pandemic finally over? How can it be over when new variants are on the news every day? Are we going “back to normal”? Biodecoded will break down what we know so far.
After more than two years of wearing masks in public, some people are concerned about the new measures. However, the data speaks for itself. In this post, we are showing the daily vaccine doses administered by the government of Canada, reported cases, and deaths [1]. Even though this data is only from one country, others follow the same pattern – check out this link for the full data [2].
To facilitate the understanding of this data, the table below compares the number of cases and deaths in Canada in May 2020 (beginning of the pandemic), July 2021 (middle of the pandemic when people started getting the vaccine), and January 2022 (during the Omicron variant outbreak). We decided to choose these months to better showcase the differences at distinct points of the pandemic.
At the beginning of the pandemic, the mask mandate was implemented as plenty of evidence showed the link between its use and the decrease of COVID-19 cases [3, 4]. As people received immunization – whether by the vaccine or the virus – there were fewer deaths, less crowded hospitals, and better outcomes overall. In fact, even though the cases in January 2022 skyrocketed with the Omicron variant (22.5 times more cases than in May 2020) the number of deaths were 1.15 times less (table 1).
Furthermore, since the Omicron variant, it has been very difficult to keep up with the real number of cases. There are several reasons for this:
Omicron spreads quickly.
Antigen tests are not as reliable as PCR tests. More information on this topic on “How do COVID-19 rapid tests work?” and “How do COVID-19 PCR tests work?”. However, PCR tests take longer, and laboratories cannot handle that many samples in such a short period of time.
Some may be asymptomatic, not realize they have COVID-19, and do not get tested.
Some may not want to report their positive result to avoid quarantining.
Since counting the total number of cases is difficult, and this variant seems to cause less severe symptoms (read more about this variant here). Some governments have decided to go back to “normal” and lift the mask mandates.
What happens now? Even though the governments are lifting mask mandates, it does not mean you cannot wear them. You can decide whether you want to continue wearing masks. However, the Canadian government recommends mask usage when you or others around you are at risk for a severe COVID-19 infection, or when you are in a crowded/poorly ventilated setting [5].
It is important to note that some epidemiologists think that the lifting of the mask mandate is still premature, therefore, if the government guidelines change, it is crucial to follow them.
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Written by: María
Edited by: Natasha
BioDecoded is a volunteer group committed to sharing accurate scientific information. For more information about vaccines and their safety profile, please see previous posts or consult with your personal physician. If you have any questions about this topic, please comment or send them to our email.
References:
Berry I, Soucy J-PR, Tuite A, Fisman D. Open access epidemiologic data and an interactive dashboard to monitor the COVID-19 outbreak in Canada. CMAJ. 2020 Apr 14;192(15):E420. Available at: https://art-bd.shinyapps.io/covid19canada/ (Accessed: 8 May 2022).
COVID-19 ArcGIS Dashboards. Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) (2022). Available at: https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6 (Accessed: 8 May 2022).
Association between Mask Mandates and Population-level COVID-19 Outcomes – What We Know So Far. Public Health Ontario (2022) Available at: https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/Documents/nCoV/COVID-WWKSF/2022/03/wwksf-mask-mandates-population-level-outcomes.pdf?sc_lang=en (Accessed: 8 May 2022).
Huang, J., et al. The Effectiveness Of Government Masking Mandates On COVID-19 County-Level Case Incidence Across The United States, 2020. Health Affairs Journal (2022). Available at: https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01072 (Accessed: 8 May 2022).
COVID-19 mask use: advice for community settings. Government of Canada (2022). Available at: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/prevention-risks/about-non-medical-masks-face-coverings.html (Accessed: 8 May 2022).
Is it too early to lift mask mandates? The head of Ontario’s COVID-19 science table thinks so. CTV News (2022). Available at: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/is-it-too-early-to-lift-mask-mandates-the-head-of-ontario-s-covid-19-science-table-thinks-so-1.5812762 (Accessed: 8 May 2022).
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