Has the Scottish Govt produced any evidence of the effectiveness of face-coverings?

[Seeingadistance]

I do not believe that face-coverings make the slightest bit of difference to the spread of Covid 19. But, I am legally obliged to wear something - anything - over my mouth and nose wherever the Scottish Government decides I should.

I've had a look at the coverage of last week's announcement that face-coverings are to stay for a while longer, but the only reason I could see being given was that it would be "prudent"!

Can anyone here point me to an evidential basis for the Scottish Government's decision?

Yesterday I had a lovely wander round Asda sans mask - exchanging conspiratorial glances with others who had the audacity to expose their face to the world.

Well we are the only uk nation left with legal requirement to wear masks.
And currently 1 in 11 in Scotland have covid and the highest numbers in hospital who have tested positive we've ever had🤷🏼‍♀️
England and Wales have 1 in 16 and N Ireland 1 in 17.

So whatever protections we have are clearly not working! We have a real life study here of mask wearing v non-mask wearing nations

If SG genuinely feel we need protections in place, they need to come up with something else because what we have ain't working!
Or admit they are not making any difference and drop them

We also have the longest isolation requirement of anywhere now

Ah, but “with long isolation comes juicy grant”. I could use another shot at that, fancy a chicken coop. Will call my first layer Nicola.

I was skiing in France last weekend, where they've just removed mask wearing and need to show your covid pass. Until then I'd honestly have said I wasn't that bothered about the mask wearing, but OMG it was just so nice not to have to go through the complete pantomime of putting your mask on when you stand up inside, but not wearing it when you're sat down.
In the cinema in Edinburgh last night most people removed theirs for the showing. Covid is rife, if you're sat in a room in close contact with other people for 2 hours, a dirty rag isn't going to offer much protection against it.

Sadly, despite being kind of employed by them I do not qualify for the grant, so have lost £900

I've always been ok wearing a mask too @rookiemere but that's because I believed the rhetoric that they made some difference if we all did it.
As time's gone I've realised all the evidence suggests it's surgical masks and FFP2 changed frequently that make the difference, not cloth face coverings.

And I also feel masks have been politicised (look at America!!)

Looking back I now wonder why if SG felt facemasks were so important they had to remain in law (as they have stated unparliament) they didn't make it surgical/FFP2 masks as some other countries did?

Seeing a photo of Humza Yousaf without a mask whilst on a school visit this week was the last straw on mask wearing for me

We started seriously questioning the masks last summer, when England dropped all mandates and then had a lower peak than us with our enhanced caution. I think a lot of people then started to actually think of the logic of (for example) pulling the mask out for a few steps to the table, taking it off for hours, then putting it back on for the few steps to the door again. None of the data since has made me think it's anything other than a symbol, these days often of how virtuous you are, as its pretty obvious any impact on transmission is negligible to none.

At a show in Edinburgh on Thursday night c. 25% kept masks on. The madness is on its way out.