@ApplesandBunions back again, of course. Hope you had a cosy warm break yesterday. Perhaps I've not been as explicit as needed.
The disease transmits because (if I'm contagious) I spew my inner fluids (usually mouth or nose, take your pick) accurately into your (clean of virus) nose or mouth in large enough quantities onto the correct receptors that it can attach to and get on with infecting you. This is how it happens, and there is no magic involved. Behavioural intervention options have always been about "space, face and hands" - that's all the rules anywhere on this planet have every been about. These rules span the pre-vaccine enforced distancing (on which we were at the low intensity end, thankfully) to simply asking people to change their behaviour on "space, face, hands" as say Sweden did. Meanwhile vaccines and cures were developed, and that is still ongoing, against a constantly adapting virus. The less we're susceptible to death, the more chance we have to adapt, so helpful behaviour to reduce and avoid my shooting my fluids with precision into your (I was going to say innocent, however they're obviously not so innocent if you're not properly N95/99 masked up, are they?) nasal and oral passages. Whether this is by my kindness (my mask, distancing) or your caution (your mask, distancing) is not relevant. The trouble with masks is that they're like cars or guns or Strads; none of these are useless or dangerous or musically divine, it is a person's behaviour that makes them useless or dangerous or divine. Even if the rules say to mask up, people not wearing them properly means there are no rules. None of this is difficult to get, the public health messaging has always been about proper masking, yet it seems such a fashionable thing to boast that you're so special they're either not needed or don't work, or so cool to do the nostril/chin strap rebel thing. It is entirely the person that is to blame responsible, not the mask/car/gun/Strad.
Back to your holy grail of proving that rules don't work. Well they work for a lot of countries much better than they do here, despite our heritage of free and very good education, healthcare. Even ones that did not lock down. That's fact, in the death data. Your mantra demanding "proof" is disingenuous at best because you pretend that there is no link between behaviour and transmission and death. We're "unlucky" in that we have lots of international traffic especially through London, so behaviour is even more important in our case. The Sage advisers have always known that culturally we're going to break the rules enough (it's in the data, as always) that the vaccines were essential so we have a better chance of surviving and time to adapt. The cessation of rules in February was because they were being flouted anyway, and vaccination had enough coverage that economic activity could be balanced with health for all but the vulnerable and elderly. Of course, almost all health sector workers knew that that meant every vulnerable person became a second rate citizen from that point.
Living with the virus is literally down to personal choices, so you're clearly on your own, although most of us can easily spot our tribe. I'm not keen to either projectile vomit my inner fluids onto anyone, nor guzzle someone else's fluids. I maintain space, mask up properly and learn to keep my hands away from my face. That's not "faith", it's following rather than flouting behavioural patterns that benefit me and everyone else. Whatever "proof" you need, you will find in the Sage evidence on behaviour and their advice given their expertise in how we behave in the UK. If that's not enough, well dear @ApplesandBunions, have a happy time wallowing in the bodily fluids sharing tribe. I'm perfectly happy for you to blame me for whatever you've concocted in your head. If you need to be "right" about whatever you've drummed up, fill your boots. It's nothing to me and may fill a need in you. I therefore will not be responding to any more of your repeated rants on the basis that there's no addressing someone who continues to insist that behaviour is not a cause of transmission and deaths, and therefore that behaviour is not reflected in the death numbers and patterns. It's obvious that it doesn't matter to many that the NHS is screaming under the weight of avoidable covid-related infections (patients and staff) and patients who through no fault of their own dying from being blocked from treatment. I accept that I've wasted my time here because despite space/ventilation and high filtration masks being reported and advised nationally, we'll always have the cool, popular, clever, special people who don't need them and who they don't work for. Wonder if they know they're also all so predictable from the data.
I'm more concerned at the derailment, and hope the OP is better, and managing to juggle everyone's needs in the family.