"The Science Is Settled!"

‘A rule which states that good must be renounced in order to save the good is just as false and contradictory as that which, in order to protect freedom, orders us to renounce freedom.’
https://architectsforsocialhousing.co.uk/2020/06/11/the-science-and-law-of-refusing-to-wear-masks-texts-and-arguments-in-support-of-civil-disobedience

an overwhelming mass of medical and scientific opinion is not only that masks do nothing to stop the spread of SARs-COV-2, but that non-medical masks of the type we are being advised to wear on public transport by the Government — a supposedly life-saving device it recommends fashioning from an old T-shirt — can endanger the wearer by increasing the chance of infection: either through a build-up of the exhaled virus on the inside of the damp cloth covering; or by increasing the incidence of hand-to-face contact while fitting, adjusting and removing the covering. By restricting the wearer’s intake of oxygen, face coverings may — again, the evidence is inconclusive either way — cause headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath or worse. Making such guidance mandatory, therefore, may be in contravention of Article 1 of the Human Rights Act 1998: ‘Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law.’ Given the widespread association of face coverings with subservience, both historically on prisoners and slaves and in contemporary cultures, it may also violate Article 3: ‘No one shall be subjected to degrading treatment’. And, given the weight of evidence of the political motivation for making face-coverings mandatory, and in the absence of conclusive scientific proof supporting this decision, it may also violate Article 14: ‘Enjoyment of rights and freedoms without discrimination on grounds of political opinion’.