The Vanderbilt Department of Health Policy analyzed statewide hospital admissions and found that those in areas requiring most residents to wear masks recorded a 30% increase in new admissions in July.

Hospitals in areas where most residents are not required to wear face coverings saw a 200% jump in the same time period, researchers said.

Large urban hospitals that treat a mix of patients were somewhere in the middle.

The Vanderbilt analysis did not fully attribute the decline in hospitalizations to mask mandates. Some places that require masks also have other public health orders that likely had an effect.

Masks remain a source of debate in Tennessee. Gov. Bill Lee has encouraged Tennesseans to wear masks, but has rejected pleas for a statewide mandate. He empowered county mayors to make calls on whether to issue such orders.

There are mask mandates in 26 counties that contain about 68% of state residents, according to the Vanderbilt analysis.