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What It Was Really Like To Live Through The ‘Spanish Flu’ Pandemic In 1918-1919

Bullets, bombs, and harmful gases are not the only things that can kill people. An invisible, microscopic entity is enough to do the job just like it did back in 1918 and 1919. No one can forget the great Spanish flu of 1918 that spread out worldwide during the first World War. The transfer of troops triggered the transmission of the influenza virus, which took around 50-100 million lives worldwide. The time period saw a shortage of medical facilities, quarantines, and even total lockdowns across the world. Here is a brief comparison of the situation at that time to today where COVID-19 is widespread.

Spain was the first country to report about the Pandemic

It is very interesting to know why this influenza pandemic is known as the Spanish flu. Though its first outbreak was in Kansas, the US didn’t publish anything about the severe nature of the disease immediately. The disclosure of any type of information related to this disease was made against the law as per the Woodrow Wilson’s Sedition Act.

On the other hand, Spain was not a part of WW1. This gave Spain immunity against the censorship and power to publish anything related to the pandemic. And that’s how Spain became the first country to make the pandemic public. In 2019, Wuhan was the first city to report the first COVID-19 case.

The Pandemic affected social relations for a long time

The widespread pandemic became an eternal source of fear among the people. The number of dead and affected people made others think just about themselves. It was so frightening that people refrained from touching each other, eating with each other, and going out of the house. As there were no schools, churches, or offices, the flu affected relationships on all levels.

In short, the Spanish flu took away all the intimacy and love that existed among people and their loved ones. Similarly, due to COVID-19, today also people cannot meet and talk to each other face to face. Though technology has helped them do so virtually.

Quarantines were enacted

The pandemic called Spanish flu was rapid in transmitting among people. Moreover, once it was transmitted, it had a very serious impact on the health. So, many cities around the US were quarantined. It was believed that if all of the affected and normal people were quarantined, it would stop the disease from spreading.

People who were affected were either quarantined in their homes or the nearby designated place. Though, the strictness of quarantine was different in different cities. On the one hand, St. Louis followed strictly quarantined, and on the other hand, New York City wasn’t. Today, quarantines are enacted all over the world to control the scope of COVID-19, just like in 1918-19.

Public buildings were converted to hospitals

The scope of affected people due to the flu was so wide that it was out of control. All the active American healthcare facilities could not handle that many patients at a time. So, the communities of the country used their private and public buildings to accommodate the affected people.

Various public buildings like armories accompanied by some private residences were also converted into medical centers for treating people. All of these efforts put up by the communities made it a bit easy for health experts to take care of the infected people. Just like the 1918 flu, the spread of COVID-19 also led to the conversion of soccer stadiums, horse racetracks, and convention centers into hospitals.

Masks were made compulsory in outdoor areas

The Spanish flu wave was so dangerous that people were not even allowed to breathe freely. As the flu targeted people through breathing, it was necessary that every person who goes out should wear a mask for safety. Though, different places in America had different scenarios in this case also.

In places like Colorado, Seattle, and others, people were required to wear masks while shopping and traveling. On the other hand, California took the flu more seriously by detaining and fining those who were not wearing a mask in public places. Today, the use of masks is also compulsory for anyone who goes out in public.

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