Where I am at (Austin, TX, USA) it is a sliding scale. Depending on a number of metrics (eg, rate of infection, hospital occupancy), the percentage occupancy al

Where I am at (Austin, TX, USA) it is a sliding scale. Depending on a number of metrics (eg, rate of infection, hospital occupancy), the percentage occupancy allowed in restaurants goes up or down. And yes, when it is at stage 5, it changes to zero occupancy, allowing only to-go orders. I have zero worries that this is part of a power grab by evil overlords; they have nothing to gain from this, unlike the power grab to make encryption have government accessible backdoors, or routing all internet traffic through NSA scrapers. > jailing of mask violators as well Where are they being jailed? None in the US that I know of. I'm sure there are a few people who have created such a disturbance that they had to be removed by police, but that is ancillary to the reason they are getting nabbed, such as the guy at a Costco screaming at people and threatening to hurt them because they told him to put on a mask. He was arrested (but not jailed) for threatening people, not because he didn't wear a mask. Yes, the shutdowns are having bad consequences for a lot of businesses. There is a pandemic after all, and pandemics cause negative consequences. > mounting evidence that mask mandates don't work and/or make the problem worse I'm sure such studies exist, but there are plenty that contradict your claim, and I do not believe there is a trend in your direction. There are also people who believe condoms not only doesn't reduce the spread of AIDS but makes it worse [1]. Otherwise smart people can believe also sorts of outrageous stuff if it comports with their existing belief system. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/mar/17/pope-africa-condoms-aids https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/mar/17/pope-africa-co...