Thread by @debra_caplan

During the 1918 flu pandemic, NYC health authorities moved slowly to combat the disease at first. They thought it would peak quickly and go away. But when it didn’t, NYC health officials came up with an unusual plan - and it worked (1)

We can learn from this history #COVID19nyc

NYC emerged from 3 waves of the 1918 pandemic with a far lower fatality rate than neighboring big cities. NYC had a death rate of 4.7 per 1000. Boston had 6.5. Philly had 7.3.

NYC mitigated a pandemic through public health measures once and can do it again (2)

Royal S. Copeland was brand new on the job as NYC Health Commissioner in 1918 (today, that’s Oxiris Barbot @NYCHealthCommr). He was an ophthalmologist who decided to handle the crisis differently from every other city in the US. His creativity saved lives. (3)

Copeland feared that crowded subways would make the spread of the 1918 flu worse. So he worked with businesses to stagger business hours so that there would be no rush hour on the subways.

Opening and closing times for stores were also staggered, to avoid congestion. (4)

Opening and closing times were staggered in 15 minutes increments.

The same went for theaters and movie theaters, which were required to stagger their showtimes to prevent congestion and crowds. (5)

Copeland also worked tirelessly to isolate cases of the illness coming into the city, which was mostly via the port.

He also enacted a huge education campaign which distributed millions of leaflets to residents across the city about how to keep themselves safe. (6)

Copeland wasn’t perfect and he made some mistakes. His most controversial decision was not closing the city’s public schools, which may have cost lives. But NYC in 1918 had the lowest death rate on the eastern seaboard. We can learn a lot from Copeland. (7)

At the end of the 1918 pandemic, Copeland wrote an article in the @nytimes titled “Epidemic Lessons Against Next Time.”

102 years ago, Copeland wrote this article for US. It should be required reading for all municipal officials in charge of #COVIDー19 response. (8)

Early on, Copeland divided the city into districts and opened 150 “clearinghouses” - emegency health centers throughout the city. Each center was responsible for tracking and treating cases in its district, reducing travel + crowds.

Could NYC do this again for #COVIDー19? (9)