Saying that every generation has had its challenge, and ours is staying away from people, Lehigh County Executive Phillips Armstrong and seven other local, state and federal officials participated in Monday’s first-ever countywide virtual town hall.

Taking a page from the playbook of neighboring Northampton County, which held a similar virtual meeting late last month, Lehigh’s got off to a rocky, 10-minute late start because of technical problems.

As a result, several scheduled speakers were scrapped either because they could not link up with the Zoom transmission or because the scheduled hourlong program was reduced to 50 minutes.

Armstrong and the other speakers emphasized the critical importance of social distancing. He noted that Cedarbrook, the county-operated home for the elderly, and the county jail have been locked down to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“Politics have been thrown out the window,” Armstrong said, although the Democratic executive noted that some of the masks from the Federal Emergency Management Agency had dry rotted elastic bands. “We’re not crying and complaining,” Armstrong said, “because we are all trying to do our best.”

State Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh, said his key focus has been on getting the mechanism operating to direct unemployment compensation to the nearly 1 million Pennsylvanians who have already filed claims. Saying that a big part of his job is troubleshooting, he acknowledged that the state unemployment compensation office has been “overwhelmed,” and he asked residents for their patience.

Schlossberg also said that this pandemic is highlighting the gap between the haves and the have-nots. He said that not everyone has access to the Internet, especially those in impoverished areas of Allentown in his district.

U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, D-7th District, is pleased that three stimulus bills so far have received bipartisan approval and holds out hope that this can be a preview of good things to come in having members of both sides of the aisle of Congress to work together on other critical programs on behalf of all Americans.

Noting that the pandemic has affected every aspect of our lives, Wild said she is concerned about her constituents’ mental health as well as their physical well-being.

Allentown Mayor Ray O’Connell listed steps his administration has taken to enforce social distancing, such as closing playgrounds, removing basketball hoops and canceling events at all city facilities.

Other speakers were Allentown School District Superintendent Thomas Parker and representatives of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Chief Operating Officer Frank Facchiano and Executive Vice President of Government and External Affairs Michelle Young noted that the chamber, with the backing of several county residents, gave 100 businesses $1,500 each to help during these tough times. They also said that a second, similar program is in the works with details to come soon.