Similar to the current Covid-19, the Spanish flu pandemic in the early 20th century, related to the H1N1 influenza virus, also occurred in waves.
A quarter of the UK population contracted the virus and 225,000 died, most in the period before Christmas.
Arthur Newsholme, Britain’s chief medical officer at the time, issued the first official memorandum in October 1918, recommending a series of measures to contain the pandemic such as quarantining infected people, closing schools and
However, no measures are mandatory.
American patients, most of whom were being treated for Spanish flu, at a military hospital in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 1918.
In London, health officials and local authorities applied anti-epidemic measures unevenly, with only a few cinemas and schools closed.
The situation where measures are not applied systematically comes from many reasons.
People’s attitudes are also an important factor.
That the second wave of Spanish flu peaked shortly after the end of World War I seems no coincidence.
During November and early December 1918, the hospital system in England was overwhelmed by the influx of sick and dead people.
In early December 1918, more and more schools were closed, to prevent the pandemic or teachers and students from being infected with the virus.
Regardless, the city of Manchester decided to close all primary schools until the new year.
By Christmas Day, the second wave of the virus had largely subsided.
The obituaries in national and local newspapers, which were filled with the names of those who died in the war, gradually filled with information about deaths due to the pandemic.
This number is much lower than reality.
The comments were among a series of angry responses vented to health officials.
The harshest criticism has been directed at medical recommendations that do not include the use of masks to prevent the spread of the virus.
The next wave of Spanish flu emerged again just after New Year and the virus is believed to have spread silently since the Christmas holiday.
In the end, the British people as well as the whole world had to learn to `live with` the pandemic.
Britain and other countries around the world now have much better conditions than in 1918 to respond to a pandemic that strikes quickly.
This was something very few people were willing to accept in 1918, resulting in 50-100 million deaths from Spanish flu globally, equivalent to 3-5% of the world’s population at that time.
Hannah