Dynamics of Mask Use as a Prevention Strategy against SARS-CoV-2 in Panama

Hermógenes Fernández-Marín, Gaspar Bruner-Montero, Ana Portugal-Loayza, Virginia Miranda, Alcibiades Elias Villarreal Dominguez, Eduardo Ortega-Barría, Virginia Núñez-Samudio, Iván Landires, Luis C. Mejía, Sandra López-Vergès, William T. Wcislo and Jagannatha Rao Kosagisharaf
Additional contact information
Hermógenes Fernández-Marín: Centro de Biodiversidad y Descubrimiento de Drogas, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología (INDICASAT AIP), Clayton 0843-01103, Panama
Gaspar Bruner-Montero: Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1TN, UK
Ana Portugal-Loayza: Gamboa, Clayton 09098, Panama
Virginia Miranda: Complejo Hospitalario Arnulfo Arias Madrid, Caja de Seguro Social, Panamá 1393, Panama
Alcibiades Elias Villarreal Dominguez: Centro de Biodiversidad y Descubrimiento de Drogas, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología (INDICASAT AIP), Clayton 0843-01103, Panama
Eduardo Ortega-Barría: Secretaria Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (SENACYT), Panamá 0816-02582, Panama
Virginia Núñez-Samudio: Sistema Nacional de Investigación, Panamá 0816-02582, Panama
Iván Landires: Sistema Nacional de Investigación, Panamá 0816-02582, Panama
Luis C. Mejía: Centro de Biodiversidad y Descubrimiento de Drogas, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología (INDICASAT AIP), Clayton 0843-01103, Panama
Sandra López-Vergès: Sistema Nacional de Investigación, Panamá 0816-02582, Panama
William T. Wcislo: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá 0843-03092, Panama
Jagannatha Rao Kosagisharaf: Centro de Biodiversidad y Descubrimiento de Drogas, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología (INDICASAT AIP), Clayton 0843-01103, Panama

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 24, 1-11

Abstract: Early in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, many national public health authorities implemented non-pharmaceutical interventions to mitigate disease outbreaks. Panamá established mandatory mask use two months after its first documented case. Initial compliance was high, but diverse masks were used in public areas. We studied behavioral dynamics of mask use through the first two COVID-19 waves in Panama, to improve the implementation of effective, low-cost public health containment measures when populations are exposed to novel air-borne pathogens. Mask use behavior was recorded from pedestrians in four Panamanian populations (August to December 2020). We recorded facial coverings and if used, the type of mask, and gender and estimated age of the wearer. Our results showed that people were highly compliant (>95%) with mask mandates and demonstrated important population-level behaviors: (1) decreasing use of cloth masks over time, and increasing use of surgical masks; (2) mask use was 3-fold lower in suburban neighborhoods than other public areas and (3) young people were least likely to wear masks. Results help focus on highly effective, low-cost, public health interventions for managing and controlling a pandemic. Considerations of behavioral preferences for different masks, relative to pricing and availability, are essential for optimizing public health policies. Policies to increase the availability of effective masks, and behavioral nudges to increase acceptance, and to facilitate mask usage, during the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and for future pandemics of respiratory pathogens, are key tools, especially for nations lagging in access to expensive vaccines and pharmacological approaches.

Keywords: surgical mask; cloth mask; population response; behavioral modifications; public health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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