Protective-mask mandates aimed at combating the spread of the CCP virus that causes the disease COVID-19 appear to promote the spread of the virus, according to a report from RationalGround.com, a clearinghouse of COVID-19 data trends run by a grassroots group of data analysts, computer scientists, and actuaries. Researchers examined cases covering a 229-day period running from May 1 through Dec. 15 and compared the days in which state governments had imposed mask mandates and those days when they had not. In the states with a mandate in effect, there were 9,605,256 confirmed COVID-19 cases, which works out to an average of 27 cases per 100,000 people per day. When states did not have a statewide order—including states that never had mandates, coupled with the period of time masking states did not have the mandate in place—there were 5,781,716 cases, averaging 17 cases per 100,000 people per day. In other …