Just over one year after COVID-19 reached the United States, the number of confirmed cases exceeds 26 million. The Centers for Disease Control has consistently recommended frequent handwashing, avoiding crowds, wearing masks, and staying home as much as possible to prevent the spread of the virus. Additionally, 42 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico issued stay-at-home orders in the spring of 2020. Length of stay-at-home orders varied and states have also diverged on policies that mandate masks in public places. Through the lens of signaling theory and the emotion as social information model, the current research sheds light on how governors' differing policies and communication have influenced COVID-19 behavior and outcomes. Governor press briefings between January 7, 2020, and January 1, 2021, were run through the linguistic inquiry and word count software. Results indicated that states with longer stay-at-home orders and a stronger mask mandate reported fewer COVID-19 cases. Furthermore, negative emotion in governor press briefings was related to fewer cases and this relationship was mediated by individuals spending less time away from home for an extended period (3–6 h). Practical implications and guidance for future public health messaging, including messaging aimed at bolstering vaccination efforts, are discussed.

在COVID-19到达美国后仅一年多的时间，确诊病例就超过2600万。疾病控制中心一贯建议经常洗手，避免人群，戴口罩，并尽可能多地留在家中，以防止病毒传播。此外，到2020年春季，有42个州，哥伦比亚特区和波多黎各发布了“在家中令”。“在家中令”的时长各不相同，各州在强制公共场所使用口罩的政策上也存在分歧。通过信号理论和情感作为社会信息模型的视角，当前的研究揭示了州长的不同政策和沟通是如何影响COVID-19行为和结果的。2020年1月7日至2021年1月1日之间的州长新闻发布会，通过语言查询和字数统计软件运行。结果表明，在家中待命时间更长且口罩授权更强的州报告了较少的COVID-19病例。此外，州长新闻发布会上的负面情绪与较少的病例有关，并且这种关系是由个人在延长的时间（3–6小时）中花费更少的出门时间来调解的。讨论了对未来公共卫生信息传递的实际意义和指导，包括旨在加强疫苗接种工作的信息传递。州长新闻发布会上的负面情绪与较少的病例有关，并且这种关系是由个人在较长时间（3–6小时）内花费较少的出门时间来调节的。讨论了对未来公共卫生信息传递的实际意义和指导，包括旨在加强疫苗接种工作的信息传递。州长新闻发布会上的负面情绪与较少的病例有关，并且这种关系是由个人在较长时间（3–6小时）内花费较少的出门时间来调节的。讨论了对未来公共卫生信息传递的实际意义和指导，包括旨在加强疫苗接种工作的信息传递。