That might sound like scenes straight out of today's news cycle, but they're actually over 100 years old, from the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-19.
The lessons learned in that battle against an influenza outbreak led to the creation of many of the policies and plans that are in place and being used today, a sign that even with our advanced medical knowledge and technology, sometimes learning from the past is just as important as what we do now.
The story of the Spanish Flu has been recounted many times by many sources over the last few weeks.
At the end of the First World War, a strain of influenza spread throughout the world in three waves, infecting 500 million people and killing as many as 100 million, according to some reports. The first wave came across as a mild, if somewhat more deadly, version of the regular flu in January 1918. As recovery rates started to give hope, a second wave of a mutated Spanish Flu virus hit, taking advantage of war-torn Europe and crowded conditions to kill millions in only a matter of months. That wave began to slow in October, and by November, the pandemic was largely over. A third wave hit in the spring of 1919 but was far less virulent as preparations and planning as well as large-scale immunity ensured no further major outbreaks would occur. By the summer of 1919, it was over.
Today, with the world battling the COVID-19 outbreak, a look back at the Spanish Flu pandemic can offer insights and information that might be of use – and with the similar scenes to 1918 happening today, lessons can almost certainly be taken.
That idea has led to the creation of a commemorative website by Defining Moments Canada documenting the history of the Spanish Flu throughout the world, but specifically how it affected communities across the country.
“If we take a moment to really understand the history of what happened a century ago, we’ll be far better positioned to use those learnings to make the changes we need coming out of this crisis,” said Neil Orford, co-founder of Defining Moments Canada, a heritage education organization.
The project is as impressive as it is expansive, offering an easy to follow guide to how the influenza outbreak started, spread, the societal effects it created and the lessons learned by the medical community. In addition to acting as a public resource, the site also features a host of teaching tools for educators.
“We’ve taken a macro-Canadian story – the 1918-1919 pandemic – and refracted it through a micro-historical lens,” explained Orford, a retired teacher and winner of a Governor General’s Award for history education. “The content provides educators with content, modules and lesson plans on how to take a multi-disciplinary approach to teaching a global topic with both immediate and historical resonance.”
The website is completely free to use and can be found, along with other information and lessons on timely topics, at definingmomentscanada.ca.
