[user104658]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

yes the evidence is clear they are useless with BA2

Anecdotal or actual? I agree that nation-wide trends make it seem that way but I can't find any evidence (as in scientific, actual research not observational) at all.

It may actually be that masks do still help but that transmission is mainly occurring in unmasked areas i.e. pubs and restaurants, between family members, within schools etc. (they have mask policies but the truth is of course that teenagers are **** at wearing masks or wearing them properly and are still all over each other).

I suppose what I'm saying is, there's actually a difference between the statements "Masks don't work" and "Mask policies aren't reducing spread" even though on the surface they might seem to be the same thing.