As cities around the world try to contain the spread of the coronavirus, history offers a sobering lesson about the effectiveness of lockdowns and banning mass gatherings. In 1918, amid the Spanish flu pandemic, the city of Philadelphia in the United States decided not to cancel a huge parade. In contrast, the U.S. city of St. Louis imposed tough measures early on that banned public events. As a result, Philadelphia's death rate from Spanish flu was two times higher than that of St. Louis's.
Lessons In Lockdowns: Philadelphia Vs. St. Louis Amid The 1918 Spanish Flu
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Patients in the influenza ward of Samaritan Hospital, which was run by the Student Army Training Corps at Temple University, Philadelphia, in 1918. The Spanish flu took the lives of 50 million people around the globe and led to about 675,000 deaths in the United States.
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Members of the St. Louis Red Cross Motor Corps report for duty on October 10, 1918. Unlike Philadelphia, officials in St. Louis, Missouri, decided to cancel the city's Liberty Loan Parade in 1918 and discouraged large social gatherings. Schools were also closed.
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As a result of imposing tough measures, St. Louis recorded no more than 700 Spanish flu deaths. Philadelphia's death toll was above 10,000.
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The Motor Car Service of the American Red Cross during the influenza epidemic in St. Louis in 1918.