Whilst I am under a nda, it doesn't cover my entire life. I have physically seen more than 1 fully installed Max Sims outside the US. I have not been to Africa or the Far East for many years. So as one can see some previous posters are not up to speed. As to why they venture outside their realm of knowledge I sometimes take my own cynical view.
On the matter of the thread and it's contents, I have no direct knowledge of when any certifications will be made. One thing I can conjecture is that the FAA alongside Boeing are under pressure from Federal authorities to get the MAX into the marketplace as quickly as possible just solely based on the USA financial positions due to the pandemic.
If I was a betting man I may take a punt that the MAX will be in operation before this year is out.