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Statewide mask mandates reduced COVID-19 transmission and associated deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's February 12 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Researchers examined data from 10 states in the COVID-19-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network that issued statewide mask mandates from March to October 2020. They found that the weekly COVID-19-related hospitalization growth rate declined by up to 5.6% for adults ages 18 to 64 years beginning three weeks after the mandates were implemented. The authors conclude that, as part of a multipronged strategy, mask wearing "reduces exposure, transmission, and strain on the health care system with likely direct effects on COVID-19 morbidity and associated mortality."