quarantined woman looks out the window

History’s John Grabowski links today’s public health orders to isolation practices during the Spanish Flu of 1918

1918 or 2020? This public health order from the flu pandemic sounds a lot like today

Miami Herald: / McClatchy Newspapers: John Grabowski, Krieger-Mueller Joint Professor in History, considered the parallels between the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 and the current coronavirus outbreak, saying isolation orders in 1918, “were not quite as strict as they are now,” and cited an entry in the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, which Grabowski co-founded and edits: “Isolation was seen as the best preventative. The initial approach was to suggest voluntary closures, but on October 14th theaters, movie houses, dance halls, night schools, churches, and Sunday Schools were ordered to close. … Streetcar conductors were ordered to assist police in arresting those who spat on the floor of the cars. Outdoor gatherings could take place only with permission.”