1) I'm not an epidemiologist. I'm not a virologist. But, I am a resident of Sweden who can read and think a little. The decision by Sweden today to recommend masks on public transport is far too late, and it raises a number of questions that really need to be asked.

2) Up to this point, arguments from Swedish authorities have been that (1) science on masks not conclusive, (2) mask use could encourage sick people to go out, (3) mask use could embolden people to ignore distancing/hygiene, (4) people don't know how to use masks (touch face).

3) First, it needs to be asked why the Swedish government decided today, 11 months into the outbreak, to take this first, small step on masks? If it is "new science" that has convinced them, they need to show that science, and explain how/why it outweighed previous science.

4) If, Sweden's decision to recommend masks on public transport is not based on "new science," that means the science that existed up to today was always sufficient. This, in turn, means that the "science" argument was always bogus, and masks could have been recommended long ago.

5) Also, if the govt has now shifted its position on masks being "counter-productive," or has discovered "new science" that shows them to help, why recommend them only on public transport? Why not also recommend when shopping, or in other situations where crowds might be likely?

6) By vehemently refusing to recommend masks (even on crowded buses), and in direct opposition to experts in every other country in the world, Sweden was ipso facto saying that it correctly understood mask science, and the cost/benefit of mask use, better than everyone else.

7) When "go it alone" on an issue like masks, and then, after 11 months, change your mind, you had better come prepared with a very sharp, clearly-articulated, well-reasoned explanation for the shift. Because, otherwise, people will rightly ask why you didn't recommend earlier.

8) To add to the complete whirlpool of awful communication, Swedish govt says it will recommend face-masks during "certain times"...like rush hour. Again, I don't think I'm too dumb to understand, but the logic here is truly confounding.

Masks. On public transport. Sometimes.

9) Swedish authorities and government have made their bed on the mask issue. Their change of direction should encourage journalists and scholars to ask some really tough questions. Because the answers to these questions are potentially very serious. But, that's for the experts.

10) If I was a worker in Stockholm who needed to take public transport to a job I couldn't afford to lose, forced to sit for 10 months in crowded buses with no-one wearing a mask, I'd demand a hell of a good explanation from authorities why it's recommended now, and not in March.

11) Finally, to me, mask/transport issue in Sweden about class, economics. About those forced to take transport, w/jobs they can't do via "Zoom meetings" & without paid sick leave. Lack of recommendations on transport seemed to hit certain groups disproportionately & unfairly.