the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, according to Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security a recent CDC study published in the MMWR assessed self-reporting of recommended behaviors to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 transmission, including mask-wearing, hand washing, social distancing, and staying home when sick. The Data Foundation COVID Impact Survey collected national data on reported mitigation behaviors from April to June among adults.
The study found that mask use increased from 78% in April to 89% in June. Other crucial mitigation measures, including hand washing, social distancing, and avoiding crowded areas, stagnated or declined. The prevalence of reported behaviors was lowest among those aged 18-29 years old and highest among those over 60 years. Across all age groups, however, mask wearing increased. Handwashing decreased across all groups from April to June, with the greatest decrease occurring among those aged 30-44 years old (from about 92% to 87%) and those over 60 years old (96.5% to 93%). The proportion of respondents who cancelled social activities and avoided crowded places generally stagnated or decreased from April to June, particularly for those aged 18-29 and 30-44 years old. The study concluded that understanding the factors leading to uptake of each mitigation behavior is important, particularly among the younger age groups. While news media, particularly earlier in the year, generally emphasized and criticized the lack of social distancing among young people at parties and other social events, other factors such as job type could also play a large role in disproportionately preventing younger people from distancing.