11 ways the novel coronavirus pandemic is eerily similar to the 1918 influenza outbreak

Slide 1 of 11: In 1918, social distancing measures like school shutdowns and travel restrictions were put into place in order to avoid spreading the Spanish flu, one of the deadliest events in history. In 2020, over 100 years later, we are following the same social distancing measures to mitigate the effects of COVID-19. From hourly workers panicking about lost wages to a cultural obsession with face masks, historians told Insider that both pandemics have a lot in common. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Closing stores, shutting down schools, wearing masks, and self-quarantining. In 1918, these were the social distancing methods used to mitigate the effects of the Spanish flu pandemic, and they're the same methods being used to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus more than 100 years later. Global pandemics tend to occur every 30 to 40 years, but experts have been warning for years that the world isn't prepared for the next one. In fact, some say the world today is about as well-prepared for an outbreak as people were in 1918. "What we're hearing now, in terms of washing your hands or stay home if you're sick, are almost the same measures that were recommended in 1918," said Tom Ewing, history professor at Virginia Tech. "When you don't have a vaccine, and when you don't have a treatment, you don't have the medical countermeasures," said medical anthropologist Monica Schoch-Spana, currently a Senior Scholar with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. "So you have very little left in your toolkit." That's hardly the only similarity historians are seeing. In many American cities in 1918, retail hours were cut short, public transportation was limited, and essential services including mail delivery, garbage pickup, courts, and grave digging were interrupted. Schools, universities, dance halls, pool rooms, and theaters closed. Parades and social club gatherings were cancelled. American life ground to a virtual halt, and influenza became one of the deadliest events in history, killing an estimated 50-100 million people. Historians told Insider there are many similarities between the events of 1918, which many public health experts often examine as the worst case scenario for a pandemic, and the events of 2020, from the hourly workers concerned about losing wages to the cultural obsession with masks.

In 1918, social distancing measures like school shutdowns and travel restrictions were put into place in order to avoid spreading the Spanish flu, one of the deadliest events in history.
In 2020, over 100 years later, we are following the same social distancing measures to mitigate the effects of COVID-19.
From hourly workers panicking about lost wages to a cultural obsession with face masks, historians told Insider that both pandemics have a lot in common.
Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Closing stores, shutting down schools, wearing masks, and self-quarantining. In 1918, these were the social distancing methods used to mitigate the effects of the Spanish flu pandemic, and they're the same methods being used to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus more than 100 years later.

Global pandemics tend to occur every 30 to 40 years, but experts have been warning for years that the world isn't prepared for the next one. In fact, some say the world today is about as well-prepared for an outbreak as people were in 1918.

"What we're hearing now, in terms of washing your hands or stay home if you're sick, are almost the same measures that were recommended in 1918," said Tom Ewing, history professor at Virginia Tech.

"When you don't have a vaccine, and when you don't have a treatment, you don't have the medical countermeasures," said medical anthropologist Monica Schoch-Spana, currently a Senior Scholar with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. "So you have very little left in your toolkit."

That's hardly the only similarity historians are seeing.

In many American cities in 1918, retail hours were cut short, public transportation was limited, and essential services including mail delivery, garbage pickup, courts, and grave digging were interrupted. Schools, universities, dance halls, pool rooms, and theaters closed. Parades and social club gatherings were cancelled. American life ground to a virtual halt, and influenza became one of the deadliest events in history, killing an estimated 50-100 million people.

Historians told Insider there are many similarities between the events of 1918, which many public health experts often examine as the worst case scenario for a pandemic, and the events of 2020, from the hourly workers concerned about losing wages to the cultural obsession with masks.

Source and Original Article:>>> msn.com and Insider

Comments

READ: Malacañang’s statement on UN Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard’s PH visit

From Presidential Spokesperson Ernest Abella: “We are aware that Dr. Callamard is currently in the Philippines and we are disappointed that, in not contacting our government in advance of this visit, she has sent a clear signal that she is not interested in getting an objective perspective on the issues that are the focus of her responsibility. On September 26, 2016 we sent a letter to Dr. Callamard congratulating her on her appointment as UN Special Rapporteur and in that letter we issued an invitation for her to visit the Philippines to meet with members of our government and others to get our perspective on the drug menace confronting our country and the efforts of law enforcement and others to address that challenge within the means allowed by Philippine law. Our hope at that time was that Dr. Callamard would accept this invitation as part of a commitment to carry out her new responsibilities in a manner that was objective and fair to all perspectives on th...

Duterte: Church is its own problem

President Duterte claimed that the he was not the problem of the Catholic Church as their greatest adversary was itself. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (RICHARD MADELO / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) In his speech during the proclamation rally of PDP-Laban in Negros Occidental, Duterte reiterated his tirades against the Catholic Church. The President noted that he was only defending himself from the criticisms against him by members of the clergy while behind the pulpit. “I have a very serious problem with the church. Hindi ako ang problema ng church, sila. Eh ganun talaga (I am not the problem of the Church. Their problem is themselves. That’s how it is),” he said. “Edukado naman tayong lahat (We are all educated here). If you want to criticize me and you are a priest or a preacher, itong pulpito na ito (this pulpit), do not use this. You have to go out because there is a separation of church and state and nobody but nobody can stop a citizen from criti...

Grace Poe gets burned by DOTr for grandstanding on MRT

Photo from Mindanation Senator Grace Poe has made a career out of sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong and leveraging issues completely unrelated to her in order to forward her agenda. Her most recent ’cause’ is the MRT-3, which she described to media as in a state of “lumalalang kondisyon”. The Department of Transportation (DOTr) however, was not in the mood to becoming the latest toy of Poe’s political career. In a statement posted to their official Facebook page, the transportation agency politely and effectively rebutted Poe’s claims and educated Poe on why her assumptions were absolutely baseless. The DOTr makes an important point – since 2016, services and operations have been improving. The statistics for unloading incidents and services interruptions were on an increasing trend until 2016, when they finally started going down. The new administration has been doing all it can to mitigate the negative consequences of the system they inherited – tra...

Partner for Change Philippines

Search This Blog