Local officials and Hill School students held a press conference on Oct. 7 in which they discussed how governments have attempted to control the people’s response to the pandemic. 

A remote student who is currently in China, 4th former Jason Zhou, prompted a question to Pottstown Mayor Stephanie Henrick and Councilor Trenita Lindsay regarding whether the COVID-19 pandemic could have been prevented in Pottstown in early stages.

Mayor Henrick responded, “I don’t know if it could have been prevented, but we could have shortened it if there wasn’t such an issue, a political issue between masks and social distancing. That really upsets me.” She shared that “we could have all quarantined and this would be done by March or by April.”

The mayor said she feels the pandemic was completely new to everyone and the government is learning how to handle the situation. She did not totally agree with how President Donald Trump responded to the pandemic, but she said people should listen to government orders and adhere to the guidelines. People who don’t adhere to the rules would put the whole community back to square one and the efforts they made would be all for nothing, she explained. 

Mayor Henrick explained how in the beginning it was hard to deal with the restrictions. She called it “fist bump February ” to describe her efforts to avoid direct contact with people. However, people were “upset, offended that you are not going to shake my hands, you are not going to take off your mask when talking.” She found it difficult to ring the alarm of the pandemic, and she wanted her people to understand that “I’m protecting you, from me, so find another way to greet each other.”

Councilor Lindsay talked about her travels over the summer, and she was surprised that not all states were taking the pandemic seriously. She was in New Mexico when she went into a gas station with her grandchildren. She was caught by surprise that the people in there were not wearing masks, and she felt uncomfortable. 

When Councilor Lindsay was talking about the coronavirus, she said, “We need to pay more attention to the history.” She said if we had looked back to history and actually learned from history, we wouldn’t be here right now. 

Both the mayor and the councilor find it difficult but necessary to say no to a lot of requests from the people for the sake of the community. They are all very close to the people of Pottstown, and it was hard for them to reject the people, but they think it was the right thing to do. 

Mayor Henrick said she had to say no to in-person meetings because she has respect for her family and respect for theirs. She said how important it is to meet with her “village” but mentioned how she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she got someone sick. 

Getting total control of even a small town like Pottstown is very hard. For example, Mayor Henrick has struggled to make masks mandatory. She said, “Even if we mandate it, which I’ve tried, people don’t listen.” 

Mayor Henrick also questioned Zhou regarding whether he thinks that the pandemic could have been prevented. Zhou mentioned the cultural differences between the two countries, which made the pandemic responses totally different. 

The Chinese government chose health and safety over freedom, Zhou said, and the result was that China is “basically corona-free now.” Data from the World Health organization shows that China has a controlled curve in COVID-19 cases. 

Mayor Henrick and Councilor Lindsay agreed with Zhou’s argument. Councilor Lindsay said that a mandatory quarantine would never happen in the United States because people value their freedom over the wellbeing of the country.  

Councilor Lindsay said it is really upsetting when people are still protesting about “our choices, our wills” under such a serious pandemic. 

Mayor Henrick and Councilor Lindsay expressed a lot of curiosity in Zhou’s experience and wondered if China’s strategy could be applied to their community.