THREAD: History repeats itself.

Spent some time reading Ohio news clippings from 1918-19 about the Spanish Flu pandemic. The parallels between then & now are remarkable — the health orders, the public backlash, people wearing masks wrong...

Let's take a look:
It would take too much time to give a comprehensive overview of how Ohio responded to that pandemic, but there are many constructive moments.

October 1918: Spread recorded throughout the state. Women asked to make masks at home for hospitals. Headline: “VIGILANCE, NOT HYSTERIA”
What to do with the schools? In Cleveland: “school authorities believe that closer supervision of the children can be accomplished in the school room than if they were at home or wandering about the streets. Special steps are being taken to air the school rooms thoroughly…”
In the absence of a statewide plan, cities enacted a patchwork of local responses.

Cincinnati closed ice cream parlors, but let saloons stay open for carryout only. Cleveland urged citizens to keep their car windows open.
The @OHdeptofhealth stepped in. The state drafted health orders for local departments to enforce.

In 2020, DeWine has never ordered churches to close (despite what some lawmakers imply!).

Back in 1918, though, churches in many communities were forced to closed.
Health orders in some cities will sound familiar.

- Columbus enacted a business curfew
- School children had to wear masks, as did those gathering in public places
- Those dining in restaurants had to wear masks while waiting for service and upon leaving their tables.
The @OHdeptofhealth explained the need for action: “the regulations represent simply an effort to place reasonable restrictions around the intermingling of people.”

Why not give Ohioans freedom to handle this? State health commissioner: “The situation is not being met at all.”
The rise in cases led some areas to set up emergency hospitals. Here is one example from Marion, which was in such dire shape that hospital workers needed community volunteers to help treat patients.
Government mandates can make a big difference with compliance. We learned that in Dec. 1918, when Lima rescinded its enforcement of a local mask rule in favor of merely requesting cooperation.

Almost immediately, the masks disappeared.
With the order still in place but enforcement out the window, Lima residents viewed mask wearing to be optional. And since it was optional, they opted not to wear them.

A Lima reporter visited town and documented only 1 person wearing a mask -- incorrectly.
There was public backlash against health orders elsewhere. Denver shut down businesses/ordered masks. Following protests, the businesses were allowed to reopen if customers wore masks. None did. Streetcar conductors threatened to strike if a mask mandate were enforced on riders.
Newspapers and health officials warned about ‘returning to normal’ too quickly, especially for people who contracted the disease and thought they were beyond it: “in that spirit of impatience lies one of the greatest dangers in the disease.”
Finally, one more parallel: Toward the end of 1918, the health board in Marion decided to rescind its health orders. No more mask mandate, no more curfew, all businesses reopened.

A doctor on the board decided to quit. /thread

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More from @Tylerjoelb

19 Nov
Some important testimony in Ohio Statehouse this morning as health officials, including the new chief medical officer of @OHdeptofhealth, speaking out against SB311

Bill would prevent ODH from issuing widespread quarantine orders & allows lawmakers to rescind other orders.
311 has already passed Senate. It's moved quickly thru House committee this week ahead of today's floor session.

90 minutes of opposition testimony allotted this morning. Important bill to keep an eye on today.
Folks, I cannot tell you how different it feels to hear actual expert testimony on a COVID-19 related bill

Last night's SB311 testimony came from anti-vaxxer groups, with one fellow claiming contact tracing involved ppl with guns going door-to-door threatening Ohioans.
Read 4 tweets
17 Nov
SB311 testimony ongoing. While Ohio sets record after record of new cases/hospitalizations, bill sponsor Sen. Kristina Roegner says about 'flattening the curve' -- "you don't hear that term anymore"

Cases are absolutely spiking
More -- Sen. Roegner tries to make the case we're in good shape on hospitalizations; "we're not in any danger certainly as of yet"

Again, Ohio has a record number of people in the hospital for COVID-19 at this very moment and the # just keeps going up
More -- Sen. Roegner then points to a chart showing "hospitalization per reported case"

It is common knowledge re: COVID-19 that hospitalizations are a lagging indicator and, despite our recent hospitalization increase, that doesn't even include all the recent surge in cases
Read 7 tweets
13 Nov
There are countless, literally countless examples of Ohio's COVID-19 skeptics (in Statehouse & elsewhere) pointing to the early projections of 6k, 8k, 10k cases per day & urging Ohio to reopen based on us having not hit those numbers.

Today we have. Those projections are here.
When I wrote in Oct. about the June "Mission accomplished!" letter I wondered how signers reflected on recent surge

Author doubled down, re: those forecasts: “I’ll never forget that. We never got close to that. Not even remotely close.”

We're now there!

ohiocapitaljournal.com/2020/10/27/19-…
I have so many of these I'm not sure where to start. State Sen. Andrew Brenner saying "Clearly the general population is safe from Covid19" and retweeting a message saying "The COVID epidemic is over" ImageImage
Read 9 tweets
3 Oct
Advice on paying taxes from 1897. #LateNightHistory
Not enough newspaper ads call the reader stupid anymore
"A Bad Man Generally"
Read 5 tweets
2 Oct
Ohio @GovMikeDeWine is set to address President Trump having tested positive for coronavirus shortly.

Normally does not hold press conf's on Fridays but is following the diagnosis. I'll have updates, videos, etc here in this thread. Image
DeWine offers best wishes for the president and first lady + all others impacted by the virus. Does a quick update on the numbers (see below), and we're on to questions already.

Gov. DeWine is asked about how members of Trump's family/invitees not wearing masks in the debate hall.

Lt. Gov. Husted saying he saw "most" people wearing masks.

There have been many, many photos published that show them not wearing masks. It's been everywhere.
Read 7 tweets
2 Oct
Just found this amazing news clipping from 1920: the original Ohio Senate chamber ceiling was made of glass, but apparently nobody noticed for decades because it was never cleaned #LateNightHistory Image
Evergreen

(Dayton Herald, 1906) Image
Apparently people in 1893 really, really hated the look of the Statehouse Image
Read 5 tweets

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