Bob Main holds possible super spreader event on county property

At the scheduled commissioner’s meeting today, Bob Main chose to defy the state mask mandate. Emboldened by a group of anti-mask and anti-vaccine folks estimated to be of about thirty by one witness, Main and the group refused to mask up forcing Commissioners John Sweet and Melissa Cribbins to exit the meeting and without a quorum, no county business could move forward.

The crowd included both Rob Taylor, a right wing talk show provocateur and who has been tied to the storming of the Oregon State Capitol. Also present was Rod Taylor who participated in the January 6 insurrection in Washington, DC.

According to witnesses, the crowd’s attendance at the meeting appeared to be no surprise to Main who allowed the group to take turns at the podium to criticize both Cribbins and Sweet who had long since exited the meeting. Rob Taylor even likened John Sweet to Hitler to the laughter and pleasure of the crowd.

Main has not responded to an email requesting an explanation but he did give this quote earlier this month to KCBY –

“If 60% or more of the county residents have had their shots, why would everybody need masks again?” Main said. “If the masks are so effective, why did you need shots? So if the shots and the masks aren’t effective, why have them at all? The science doesn’t bear that out. It seems like it’s highly political only.”

The arithmetically challenged Main using the word science when he clearly hasn’t looked at any of the science relating to vaccines and masks and social distancing is a real hoot! Main need only visit the county’s own website to see the impact the current surge in cases is taking on local health resources.

The current outbreak is concentrated in areas with low vaccination coverage. Perhaps Main might learn something by reviewing states like Texas and Florida presently suffering the highest infection rates in the nation. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis just passed an executive order denying school districts the opportunity to protect their students to a higher standard by refusing to allow mask mandates.

Derived from data collected by the CDC, Kaiser Family Foundation has determined that less than 1% of COVID cases are breakthrough infections within fully vaccinated people. Of those cases, less than .004% require hospitalization and only .001% result in death.

Also attending this meeting was County Sheriff Craig Zanni and one of his lieutenants who were not inclined to enforce mask wearing and after the meeting and the parade of insults toward the other commissioners were standing around outside chatting with the Bandon group when I drove past the Owen Building shortly after 11 AM.

There is good evidence that cloth masks are much less effective than N95 surgical masks. Nonetheless, they do still help to reduce the amount of virus an infected person spreads into the air surrounding them therefore reducing the chance for someone else wearing a cloth mask to become infected.

Coos County had 76 new Covid cases just today. That Bob Main, the sheriff and his deputies have such little regard for public health and safety should make everyone question their legitimacy to hold office or work for the county. To behave this way on public property owned by the people that pay their salaries just to politicize their own ideology is disgusting and may even qualify as malfeasance.