COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Montgomery County is the suspected epicenter of coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania, and about half of the confirmed coronavirus cases are in and around Collegeville. Parents in the area have had to learn how to coexist with the virus.
Four different families that spoke with KYW Newsradio had similar approaches: stressing handwashing, and allowing playing with others, as long as it's outside.
With schools closed for two weeks, mother of two Liz Motley was thankful her kids can enjoy the nice weather.
"I told them they are allowed to play outside," she said. "They're not allowed in other people's houses and I don't want their friends in our house. I told them if they have to go to the bathroom, wash your hands."
Motley said she has been trying to keep some sense of normalcy for her kids.
Candace Richards, mother to a 4 and 6-year-old, said she has been trying to avoid people are aren't taking the virus seriously. "This is a true pandemic in our very own neighborhood, our very own community," she worried, "now that we have our confirmed cases not only in Skippack but here in the borough where we live."
Aside from rules for her kids, Richards said the family is also limiting going out to restaurants and even getting take out.
She said her husband came up a good idea for local Collegeville eateries.
"Bob said, 'Maybe I'll take one for the team, go and buy a bunch of gift certificates from those places so at least they're getting money in, because there are going to be people that are not going to those places as they normally would be,'" she recalled.
Christine Hayward said she's prepared for a quarantine. The mother of three shared her plans to start homeschooling her children. "I set some desks in my basement, for real, and I just wrote a letter to the kids, welcoming them to their new classroom and what their schedule will be starting Monday," she explained.
Lori Demito said she is trying not to panic. "Right now, I'm not overthinking things. I'm kind of just taking it day by day. I'm just trying to do what we're told," said the mother of two.
She said she was disappointed to see a lot of people out and about while on a trip to the store Saturday, despite Gov. Tom Wolf's guidelines that only critical infrastructure - like health care facilities, gas stations, grocery stores, government and mass transit - stay open and people remain indoors.
"I feel like people are kind of just taking it not as seriously as they should. Because I think it's getting worse and worse. I don't think we've seen the worst of it and that is what's a little scary," she expressed.
KYW's Jim Melwert contributed to this story.
