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INDIANAPOLIS — If you attended games inside the March Madness bubble in Indiana last season, you were being watched.

Researchers with several organizations such as the Regenstrief Institute of Indianapolis and the IU Fairbanks School of Public Health were among the crowds not watching the games, but watching the fans.

They were observing to see how people were wearing their masks and if they were doing so correctly, covering both the nose and mouth. Fans were required to wear masks at all times while attending games unless while eating or drinking.

“At a sporting event where the public health agencies and the venue were doing everything they could to encourage spectators to wear masks, we found that less than three out of every four spectators were correctly wearing masks, highlighting the challenge of getting the public to follow mask requirements,” said Dr. Joshua Vest, a corresponding author of the study, to Inside Indiana Business.

To make it clearer, the study found that around 74-percent of the 20,000 people they observed at games were wearing masks properly.

“This study is one of the first to provide evidence on masking behavior at large indoor events,” said Dr. Peter Embí. “Evidence that individuals, public health officials, and policymakers need as we all work to stay safe and reduce disease spread.”

The study was funded by Resolve To Save Lives, which is a non-profit organization that gives grants to researchers studying how to stop global pandemics and other diseases.