The effect of compulsory face mask policies on community mobility in Germany*
利用德国各州在疫情第一波期间分阶段实施强制口罩政策，结合智能手机定位数据，发现该政策短期内减少了社区流动性，但中期无显著影响，且未导致流动性增加。
Abstract There is an ongoing debate about face masks being made compulsory in public spaces to contain COVID‐19. A key concern is that such policies could undermine efforts to maintain social distancing and reduce mobility. We provide first evidence on the impact of compulsory face mask policies on community mobility. We exploit the staggered implementation of policies by German states during the first wave of the pandemic and measure mobility using geo‐located smartphone data. We find that compulsory face mask policies led to a short‐term reduction in community mobility, with no significant medium‐term effects. We can rule out even small increases in mobility.