Mask Mandates Work In Schools, New Local Study Says

PHOENIX, AZ — Schools without mask requirements are three times more likely to experience COVID-19 outbreaks, according to a new study of K-12 students in Maricopa and Pima counties.

Arizona State University led the study that was was co-authored by Pima County Health Department Director Dr. Theresa Cullen and the department's Schools COVID-19 liaison Brian Eller, according to a news release from Pima County. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published the study Friday.

"The findings reinforce and give credence to the existing guidance from the CDC and Pima County: Universal mask wearing in schools is absolutely an essential part of a layered mitigation strategy against the spread of COVID-19," Cullen said in the release.

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The study looked at school-based outbreaks and mask requirements in 1,000 schools from July 15 through Aug. 31.

The study categorized mask requirements in three ways:

• Early, for mandates that began at the start of the school year.
• Late, for mandates that began after the start of the school year.
• No mask mandate.

Of the 191 school-associated outbreaks in the report, 8.4 percent happened in early mask requirement schools, 32.5 percent in late mask requirement schools, and 59.2 percent in schools without a mask mandate.

The Pima County Health Department has already recommended quarantine for more than 8,000 students in the county, Cullen said during a Friday morning news conference.

“We know that without masks the impact would have been 3.5 times greater,” she said.

Although many school districts in the Valley and in the Tucson area have implemented mask mandates, it's still a controversial topic.

Some parents have protested required masking in schools and have even threatened to move their children to school systems without mask mandates. School board members and administrators, like those at Scottsdale Unified School District, have argued that mask mandates are necessary to keep kids going to school in-person instead of having to close schools or quarantine large groups of students. Experts tend to agree that learning in-person is what's best for most students.

A statewide ban on mask mandates in schools is set to go into effect Sept. 29, as part of Arizona's budget reconciliation bill.

“Our goal is to help inform the school districts,” Cullen said. “We recognize the schools will be in a difficult situation as we move toward the Sept. 29. date. Our hope is that this is information that will encourage, cajole, inform people’s decision about the role of masking."

A group of educators, parents and children’s advocacy groups are challenging the ban on mask mandates in Maricopa County Superior Court, saying it was unconstitutional to put the ban in unrelated budget legislation, the Associated Press reported.