Was the stay-at-home order in Illinois associated with different rates of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) compared with Iowa, which did not issue a stay-at-home order?

A cross-sectional study of border counties in Iowa and Illinois used difference-in-differences design and found an increase in estimated rates of COVID-19 cases per 10,000 residents in the border counties in Iowa compared with the border counties in Illinois after a stay-at-home order was implemented in Illinois but not in Iowa.

The results of the study by Wei Lyu and George Wehby in the Department of Health Management and Policy suggest that issuing a stay-at-home order in Iowa may have helped limit the spread of COVID-19 cases in that state.

Read the full study in JAMA Network Open

Media Coverage

‘Stay-at-home’ orders reduce COVID-19 cases in some areas, study finds
https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2020/05/15/Stay-at-home-orders-reduce-COVID-19-cases-in-some-areas-study-finds/7801589548235/

Illinois Mandated ‘Stay-at-Home’ Orders, Nearby Iowa Didn’t — Here’s What Happened
https://live.healthday.com/coronavirus-spread-state-stay-at-home-orders-2646010386.html