We need to teach people how to look at studies critically. This study has alot of problems. It just looks at raw data for after face mask wearing became mandatory in ONE city (Jena) and then the subsequent drop in new infections there, compared to all other cities. The only controls were looking at other cities that hadn't implemented face masks yet. No data on where those cities were in their peak, and they ignored the biggest cities; Berlin, Cologne, Munich, Hamburg, and Heinsberg. So we don't know how much of the drop came from face masks or from more frequent hand washing, social distancing, sunlight having an effect on transmission rates, where those cities were in the timeline of the spread, if there were other cities that had introduced masks that also had a similar drop, or any other of the many variables.
Politicians are changing their positions due to political pressure. Its an election year. Look at doctors who aren't politicians, they are maintaining that the masks aren't helpful. Michael Osterholm literally wrote the book on respiratory virus pandemic policy. He said it then and hes saying it now, cloth masks just aren't helpful. There is a reason n95 masks are a thing.
Would you walk into a covid ward if every patient there had their t-shirt over their face? Its painfully obvious that its not effective. Although I probably would walk into there just to get it over with and get antibodies since Im in the very low risk category.
