I know there were a lot of us numberwise. And probably a lot of smarta** too. Anyway would we have been better off or worse? How could it be worse? Wait and see. We're getting there.
Back in them thar days (1860-1861), social distancing was the norm. There just weren’t that many people around. However, there was a pandemic around that time – The Russian Flu (1889-1890). It wasn’t as bad as what we have today (in retrospect), although I doubt the millions who died worldwide would agree.
Did you know that the Spanish flu (1918-1920) was handled much like this one is being handled?
Do the events of that time sound eerily familiar (regarding COVID)…
- Scientific, evidence-based information competing with speculation, rumor and innuendo.
- Government leaders understating the disease threat.
- Government inaccuracies, lies and mismanagement diminishing public trust.
- Lack of intergovernmental coordination creating confusion.
- Governments focus on non-disease issues (the economy) impeding responsiveness.
- State and local governments pursuing disease management with varying effectiveness.
- People blaming the spread of the virus on others (the Germans, Chinese).
Back then, President Woodrow Wilson put the war (WWI) above all else. That decision accelerated the disease spread and increased its massive death toll. However, unlike Trump, Wilson got the flu. It was even speculated that it was partially to blame for the massive stroke he suffered in October 1919.
It didn’t stop there. Despite significant evidence that influenza was surging within the city of Philadelphia, local leaders decided to proceed with the largest parade in Philadelphia’s history. The purpose was to build public support for the war and raise millions in war funding through the sale of Liberty Bonds. The massive Liberty Bond parade on Saturday, September 28th turned Philadelphia into a ghost town.
John Barry wrote -
“On October 1, the third day after the parade, the epidemic killed more than one hundred people — 117 — in a single day. That number would double, triple, quadruple, quintuple, sextuple. Soon the daily death toll from influenza alone would exceed the weekly death toll from all causes — all illnesses, all accidents, all criminal acts combined…
Federal, municipal, and state courts closed. Giant placards everywhere warned the public to avoid crowds and use handkerchiefs when sneezing or coughing. Other placards read “Spitting equals death.” People who spat on the street were arrested — sixty in a single day…
But the most terrifying aspect of the epidemic was the piling up of bodies…The city morgue had room for 36 bodies. Two hundred were stacked there. The stench was terrible; doors and windows were thrown open. No more bodies could fit.” - The Great Influenza
Sigh. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Shuhak 