Covid-19 has completely changed the way we live, and it feels unprecedented. But the world, and San Francisco, has actually been here before, a little over 100 years ago during the deadliest flu epidemic in American history, referred to as the 1918 Spanish Flu. Back then, the city — like now — shut down schools, emptied streets, improvised hospitals, canceled events, encouraged mask-wearing, and most of all, firmly warned to stay at home.

Taking a look back at photos from that year, it can be jarring to see such similarities to today and interesting to see what they did differently (for better or worse.) In the image above, dozens of men lie in a warren of narrow beds separated by simple cloth screens, forming a sea of white. It’s reminiscent of photos we’re seeing today of hospitals crowded with Covid-19 patients around the world. But the men in this photo weren’t sick yet — like us, they’re practicing social distancing. Although… not up to our standards today.

These men were sailors at the Naval Training Station on Yerba Buena Island, and the screens around them were an attempt to stop the spread of the disease altering their world.

The 1918 flu started at the tail end of World War I, when everyone was exhausted and ready for an end to all the fighting. Little did they know, another deadly battle hadn’t even begun. The first case of what would later become known as the Spanish Flu was detected in March of 1918. The epidemic ended in the summer of 1919 with more than one-third of the world’s population having been infected with the virus and more than 50 million deaths. More people died from the disease than from the war.

San Francisco saw 45,000 cases, and over 3,000 deaths. The “Spanish” nickname was coined after Spain’s king at the time, Alfonso XIII, became ill with it and the Spanish media was first to cover the disease, due to fewer restrictions during the war than other countries. Although the actual origin of the epidemic isn’t known for certain, historian J. S. Oxford, among others, hypothesized it actually started in the French trenches.

Much like Covid-19, the Spanish Flu spread rapidly around the world. It was far more severe than the common flu and sometimes fatal to even young adults between 20 and 35.

Similarly to today’s novel coronavirus, city officials believed a returning traveler brought the first case to San Francisco — back then, it was a San Franciscan coming home from Chicago in September of 1918. By mid-October the city had over 2,000 cases. Officials encouraged citizens to wash their hands frequently, avoid crowds, and be cautious about public transit at rush hour. Still, cases climbed, and San Francisco’s hospitals became overwhelmed.

That’s when the city put in place what we now refer to as “shelter-in-place.” After some debate, on October 17 of 1918, the city ordered all “places of public amusement,” like movie theaters and dance halls, to close, in addition to shutting down schools and prohibiting social gatherings.


Photo courtesy of the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command/Thoughtco Picture

Rather than postponing court cases as we are doing now, the courts chose to hold fresh-air trials outside. As we can see below in this photo taken in Portsmouth Square, it was a bootstrap operation.

Churches were the only gathering spaces allowed to stay open, but worshippers stood outside with face masks on, as we can see in the photo below of St. Mary’s Cathedral, taken by an unknown photographer. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that they got the same memo to stay six feet apart. Everyone at the outdoor Sunday service shown in this photo is wearing a mask, which was required by the city of San Francisco. Anyone who didn’t was a “dangerous slacker,”

The masks probably helped slow transmission a little, but they were often poorly made from surgical gauze. Nurses volunteered to sew them in large batches in Oakland, as you can see below, but they were thin and small.

When San Francisco’s cases began to drop after two weeks without social gatherings, city officials lifted many of the bans in mid-November of 1918 — a mistake we can learn from. Citizens were still required to wear masks at performances and gatherings, but it wasn’t enough.

Like Covid-19, the Spanish Flu spread rapidly between people at public gatherings, and the city didn’t socially distance for long enough.

It wasn’t until February 1919 that San Francisco was free of the Spanish Flu.

To avoid the same pitfalls that befell the Bay Area in 1918, we have to do one thing: stay home for as long as needed.

Lockdown na scam

babyfaceafrica:
Lockdown na scam

What I know is that the 2 weeks lockdown might be longer than planned if we are to survive this. Hunger and hardship will kill faster than the virus.

databoy247:
When San Francisco’s cases began to drop after two weeks without social gatherings, city officials lifted many of the bans in mid-November of 1918 — a mistake we can learn from. Citizens were still required to wear masks at performances and gatherings, but it wasn’t enough.

Like Covid-19, the Spanish Flu spread rapidly between people at public gatherings, and the city didn’t socially distance for long enough.

It wasn’t until February 1919 that San Francisco was free of the Spanish Flu.

To avoid the same pitfalls that befell the Bay Area in 1918, we have to do one thing: stay home for as long as needed.

Stay home and eat what?.. It is easy for you the privileged ones to come online and shout stay at home... You have money in your account and stored food and supplies at home?.. What of those that have... What if those that make their living daily.. What will happen to them?.. Or you belive the audio 20k your government is sharing?.. The three cups of rice giving to each family is what they will eat àbí?... Total lockdown ain't going to work without adequate palliatives...

databoy247:

What I know is that the 2 weeks lockdown might be longer than planned if we are to survive this. Hunger and hardship will kill faster than the virus.

I agree... Robbery is already high in some parts of Lagos and ogún... What is the government doing about it?

The only thing new under the sun is the level of sheer evil and corruption perpetrated by Nigerian Politicians.

Simply unprecedented.

Good one, OP.
Funny how quickly the world forgot. Goes to show, nothing is new under the sun. But this one is different. I believe God exempted malaria endemic places from this epidemic. Somehow I have a feeling that our weather combined with chloroquine renders covid-19 a disease milder than malaria in Nigeria. Yes, many, many Nigerians will possibly get it and possibly already have, but, except for very few cases, I don’t think it wil be a deadly illness as the world is seeing.

The problem is not the lockdown the government proclaimed, but the fact that nothing was put in place to provide for the people.

This is one of the disadvantages of not planning well. If we had any database, the gov't would know who to provide for and how to go about it. It's just a messed up situation.

babyfaceafrica:


Stay home and eat what?.. It is easy for you the privileged ones to come online and shout stay at home... You have money in your account and stored food and supplies at home?.. What of those that have... What if those that make their living daily.. What will happen to them?.. Or you belive the audio 20k your government is sharing?.. The three cups of rice giving to each family is what they will eat àbí?... Total lockdown ain't going to work without adequate palliatives...

I'm not a privileged one trust me. And I'm totally against the lockdown especially in a country like Nigeria.

We are between the devil and the deep blue sea. Ho out and get killed by the virus. Stay home and get killed by hunger.

The situation is really bad.

Oyibo knows how to handle severe issues