Maricopa County health officials said it will take at least two weeks to see if the county's new mask requirement helps reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
That means the results of the countywide mask order won't be clear until early July, or perhaps later.
Dr. Rebecca Sunenshine, the county’s medical director for disease control, said there was a similar lag after Gov. Doug Ducey issued a stay-at-home order.
"We know we saw a decline about two weeks after the stay-at-home order was enlisted, and that stay-at-home order is a much stronger measure than wearing masks, so it may even take a little bit longer than two weeks," Sunenshine.
The countywide mask requirement applies even in cities and towns that didn’t adopt their own mask policies.
