Spot on there, John. Dunno if you ever read that "new news..." thread, but I've said repeatedly that wearing a mask is a perfectly respectable position. Unfortunately, most people posting there don't think that my standpoint is a respectable one (I even get called names), in spite of the fact that evidence for the effectiveness of masks is all merely observational and doesn't stand up well to scientific rigour. Efforts have been made to replicate mask characteristics in investigations in laboratories, but sucking things through fabrics without a human face and human failings being involved is, well...Which isn't to say the evidence as is isn't useful or that it's wrong, but it certainly isn't strong enough to justify my being called a toddler. The real target of our disapproval should always be vaccine-refusers and the b*ast*ards on social media who put them up to it. Something that Facebook subscribers should reflect on before they come out to criticise anybody for "not doing their bit."

What would be a huge mistake would be to equate the current spike with the July removal of the mask mandate. There's plenty else going on. And let's not forget that numbers started to plummet after the first wave even before masks were made compulsory in shops, etc. Post hoc ergo propter hoc and all that....