There is a worse-governed state than Minnesota, actually several, but California has a long-running cinch on most atrocious government. I can’t resist these mask charts, these are from Ian Miller on Twitter. Now I suppose you could argue that the mask mandate kept the cases from going straight up in a vertical line. Oh wait, that is what happened. Seriously, it is a joke that people keep saying masks will make all the difference. They not only make no difference, I am wondering if they do play a role in transmission.
The Healthy Skeptic is a website about the health care system, and is written by Kevin Roche, who has many years of experience working in the health industry. Mr. Roche is available to assist health care companies through consulting arrangements through Roche Consulting, LLC and may be reached at 
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I’m firmly in the camp that they must cause more harm than not, specifically related to transmission (in addition to other potential harms). Not sure if it is by increasing the mask wearer to higher (self inflicted) viral loads or if it is causing less social distancing and aerosol transmission is to blame or both…
Matt R, I think you’re right. The masks must be part of the plan to make us sicker, for example by diminishing herd immunity. Employees forced to wear masks eight hours a day say they have headaches and other problems. Yesterday someone forced to wear them at her work said she had never in her life had a sinus infection until wearing the masks.
I am not sure how masks could possibly increase viral load unless you were already infected and even then the bug would mostly just stay on the mask and reduce load if anything. I also don’t understand why anyone would expect masks to work when they were never designed to keep out viruses. They are meant to stop surgeons from dripping bacteria from their respiratory track into their patient’s wounds.
If you think about what it might take to stop a virus, face shields would seem a better bet – at least they form a real physical barrier which covers your eyes and doesn’t touch your face. I haven’t seen any positive data on them either, but there seems to be less research on face shields overall.
Thanks for the comment Steve D.; Keving Roche, you wouldn’t happent to know of or produced your own research on face shields?