DOVER-FOXCROFT — The Piscataquis County Commissioners have published a resolution of protest against Gov. Janet Mills’ executive orders and mandates.
The three Piscataquis County Commissioners laid out a four-page document demanding Governor Mills lift all mandates and lockdowns she has implemented during the pandemic
In the resolution, the county commissioners blame the lockdowns and mask mandates for an increase in suicides, drug abuse, domestic violence, alcohol abuse, and depression across the state.
But there are those who live in Piscataquis County who don’t like or agree with the resolution.
“The actions that our leaders in the county are proposing would actually harm the residents and businesses in the county and are completely counterproductive to what a lot of us are doing around here and are trying to make Piscataquis a better place,” said Patrick Myers, a resident of Sebec.
A majority of the social media reactions were very much against this resolution, with many comments taking offense to the resolution naming COVID-19 as the “Wuhan Virus” and stating masks and the lockdown will prolong the pandemic instead of stopping it.
“There are people in the county who would agree with it and the problem I see is that this encourages folks who maybe don’t understand the coronavirus and how important it is, it encourages them to not understand it,” Myers said.
Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, had a strong reaction to a section of the resolution that stated face coverings can actually cause respiratory diseases and pneumonia
“Every single word in the sentence you just uttered is false. Indeed if it were true we would see widespread respiratory viruses and pneumonia in the millions of healthcare workers who wear face coverings every single day and we don’t,” he said.
Myers added that type of disinformation is extremely counterproductive.
“It’s about doing the work to make the community better, and there are things they could be doing to work with the state and with local partners to help people get through this crisis instead of trying to blame the state for it all,” Myers said.
He said people can make their voices heard at 8:30 A.M. Jan 19 in the county commissioners’ zoom meeting.
The county commissioners were not available for comment.
