Coronavirus vs. Spanish Flu

Well, this is a weird and scary pickle the world seems to be in at the moment.  One moment we are going along as normal, living our lives, working and socialising.  The next moment, we are confined to quarters, unable to see our friends or family, apart from the ones we live with; where every excursion out of the house feels like a dangerous mission; and where every encounter instigates a strange, slow dance as we try to remain two metres from each other.

Strange times indeed.  And for many of us, stressful and anxious times.  Most of us are probably worried about friends and family, and even fall victim to a kind of galloping hypochondria, where every little cough is enough to send us into spiralling panic mode.

We cannot in any way trivialise the tragic death of thousands across the globe who have died from this disease. But, perhaps it would ease the feelings of overwhelm if we attempt to put things into perspective, and compare what is happening today with what happened around the world in 1918.

Towards the end of World War I, a deadly flu virus was detected among soldiers in military hospitals.  Unfortunately, newspapers were unable to report it, as any news that might have an effect on morale was suppressed, and the only reports were from Spain, hence its name.

What’s more, the virus was very quickly spread across the globe by soldiers returning from the war, and in the UK alone the death toll was 228,000, and over a quarter of the population being affected.  More people died from flu between 1918 and 1919 than died in four years of the Bubonic Plague in the fourteenth century.  Between 25 and 100 million people died worldwide. 

Hospitals were overwhelmed and medical students drafted in to help, but the speed that the disease took effect was so fast that someone could feel fine in the morning and be dead by the evening. A sobering thought.

I have a personal link to that pandemic.  My own grandmother almost died of that flu, and if she had, I would not be here.  And I also have reason to believe (though I have never been able to prove it) that she had a boyfriend who did die, shortly after returning from the war.

I think we have reasons to be grateful that we are living now and not then.  The government in 1918 acted too slowly, and advice for avoiding the virus were vague and ineffective.  The medical professional tried to play down the severity of the disease to stop the spread of anxiety – but of course this meant that people did not take necessary precautions. Our experience with this virus is somewhat different.

Some people did self-isolate, but remember that then there was no television, no radio or telephone for most people, no computers and no spacious supermarkets.  Very few people had cars, or hot running water, and many people lived in cramped and crowded conditions.  They had also just come out of a devastating war.

Self-isolation today is a very different matter.  We may not be able to go out when we want, or see our friends and family, and many people are unable to work and worried about their income.  But if we compare our situation now with what happened just one hundred years ago, I think we can be sincerely grateful that we can self-isolate and get through this crisis in relative luxury.

Stay well and safe – and read lots of books!  And, by the way, for the duration of this crisis, I have dropped the price of all my Kindle books to 99p, available on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/2X4zbA6