The Spanish flu pandemic emerged at the end of the First World War. Although the strain did not originate in Spain, it was the first country where the disease was widely reported as soldiers travelled throughout Western Europe in 1918. Cases of the Spanish flu appeared in Australia in early January 1919, with the first diagnosis in Melbourne. NSW and South Australia were quick to follow, announcing outbreaks within their state borders.
NORMANHURST IN LOCKDOW N – 100 YEARS AGO AS THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC CONTINUES TO AFFECT THE WAY WE LIVE AND LEARN, WE LOOK BACK TO WHEN OUR LORETO NORMANHURST SCHOOL COMMUNITY EXPERIENCED A SIMILAR PERIOD OF UNCERTAINTY.
Despite a swift quarantine response by state governments – intercepting ships, setting up emergency hospitals and introducing public health measures – about 40 per cent of the population fell ill with what was commonly referred to in Australia as ‘influenza.’ An article by The Cumberland Argus (1 February 1919) instructed Hornsby Shire residents on best hygiene practices, echoing the health advice of this year: “The advice of the Department of Health to all citizens is to wear a gauge respirator… [in] enclosed spaces which are also occupied by any other persons… Keep in the fresh air…Wash your hands and face immediately upon reaching your home.” As Loreto Normanhurst stood away from metropolitan Sydney, the School was relatively protected from exposure. To adopt a key phrase from this year, the School was good at ‘social distancing’ from the general public. Typically, the Sisters only left the grounds for significant appointments, produce was grown onsite and most students were boarders. During the outbreak, the NSW Government restricted travel to country areas and boarders remained at School across the holidays. The few Day girls appear to have been sent home from school or were withdrawn early in the year.
LORETO LIFE 2020
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