I went out last night and had a lot of discussions about COVID-19 shutdowns

[Voice of Reason]

Philadelphia 1918 v St. Louis 1918

 

Summarize that comparison for us please. I know Philadelphia ignored the flu at first and held a huge parade or similar public event. What did St. Louis do and how did the actions of each city turn out?

[TheDeuce]

Summarize that comparison for us please. I know Philadelphia ignored the flu at first and held a huge parade or similar public event. What did St. Louis do and how did the actions of each city turn out?

 

" In 1918, the city of Philadelphia threw a parade that killed thousands of people. Ignoring warnings of influenza among soldiers preparing for World War I, the march to support the war effort drew 200,000 people who crammed together to watch the procession. Three days later, every bed in Philadelphia’s 31 hospitals was filled with sick and dying patients, infected by the Spanish flu.By the end of the week, more than 4,500 were dead in an outbreak that would claim as many as 100 million people worldwide. By the time Philadelphia’s politicians closed down the city, it was too late.

 

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

 

A different story played out in St. Louis, just 900 miles away. Within two days of detecting its first cases among civilians, the city closed schools, playgrounds, libraries, courtrooms, and even churches. Work shifts were staggered and streetcar ridership was strictly limited. Public gatherings of more than 20 people were banned."

 

A chart of the 1918 Spanish flu shows why social distancing works — Quartz

[PepRock01]

Summarize that comparison for us please. I know Philadelphia ignored the flu at first and held a huge parade or similar public event. What did St. Louis do and how did the actions of each city turn out?

 

 

St. Louis managed to enforce some social distancing and cancelled events. St. Louis had 1703 total deaths from the Spanish Flu, Philadelphia 16000.

 

At the time St. Louis was in the top 10 population wise in the US so it was not a matter of small population either.

 

While Covid-19 does not look to have the same deadliness as the H1N1 strain that made its way across the globe at the time its incubation period and the length of time it is communicable is the biggest concern. Although until testing is more widespread in the US we won't know how far it has spread.

[PepRock01]

Summarize that comparison for us please. I know Philadelphia ignored the flu at first and held a huge parade or similar public event. What did St. Louis do and how did the actions of each city turn out?

 

Extra History does a good job in their short multipart series in documenting the 1918 flu. The spread and reaction is the most applicable thing to the current situation. Obviously this pandemic will be highly unlikely to be remotely comparable to the death toll of that one, especially because that one killed the young and healthy more so than the older patients.