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Dr. Anthony Fauci ...page 2
Northwest
Prime Time
SERVING THE PUGET SOUND REGION SINCE 1986
www.NorthwestPrimeTime.com
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VOL. 20 NO. 3 JUNE 2020
Message Before Coronavirus: Afrom Gov. How Seattle handled the Spanish flu Over a century ago, my grandmother nearly died from the pandemic. Her doctor wasn't so lucky.
Jay Inslee
...by Knute Berger, Crosscut
Gov. Jay Inslee
Stewart and Holmes Wholesale Drug Co. employees on 3rd Avenue during the 1918 Spanish Influenza pandemic. (University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, submitted by Nicolette Bromberg, Special Collections Visual Materials Curator)
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perhaps by soldiers and sailors exposed to those returning from service in World War I. It first cropped up in Seattle among Navy cadets at the University of Washington, soldiers at Camp Lewis near Tacoma and among shipyard workers in the Bremerton Navy yards. These were also populations that often operated in close quarters, which could have contributed to the spread of disease. During the six months it spread This deadly version of influenza through a bustling, burgeoning killed an estimated 50 million to 100 urban Seattle, the virus killed some million people worldwide. Some 25 1,400 to 1,600 people, despite million Americans came down with public health officials trying to it. An incredible 675,000 died as a tamp it down by prohibiting result. public gatherings including church It was likely brought to Puget services, vaudeville shows, pool Sound through military connections, halls and charity fundraisers. Various tactics were This article is applied: A serum courtesy of Knute was developed Berger and Crosscut. Knute and dispensed to “Mossback” Berger shipyard workers is Crosscut’s Editorhelping the war at-Large and host effort. For a of the Mossback’s Northwest TV series time, masks were on KCTS 9. He has required in public written two books, spaces including “Pugetopolis” and “Space Needle, Spirit on Seattle’s public of Seattle.” Email transit. The city’s him at knute.berger@ schools were crosscut.com Photo intermittently credit: Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut. closed. People were
eattle has seen a killer flu before. The Spanish Flu pandemic hit the region hard in the fall of 1918 in a slow-rolling wave that didn’t peter out until March of the following year.
encouraged to stay home or to go to the hospital for treatment. The authorities sent mixed signals and received pushback from churches, theater owners and the public who often insisted on milling about on downtown streets if they couldn’t go see a movie or performance. To the confusion of many, people were advised to get fresh air and stay indoors. An “Influenza Squad” of Seattle police was formed to break up crowds, be they in saloons or soda fountains, and to enforce a ban on spitting by arresting expectorating miscreants. The public was sometimes compliant. One big problem was that folks who had mild cases continued to go about their business spreading the flu to people who would often suffer severe consequences, like pneumonia. Public health officials and politicians were often overly optimistic about containing the disease. It would seem to fade, then pop up again with renewed fervor. Quarantining sick people seemed to be the most effective action. University of Puget Sound professor Nancy Bristow, who authored the book American Pandemic about the national crisis continued on page 18
Greetings from Olympia and a happy June to you all. It is hard to believe 2020 is almost halfway over, but it has been one of the busiest and most challenging periods in my two terms as your governor. We do not yet know how the spread of COVID-19 will continue to affect our region, but I want you to know my office and state agencies are working around the clock with both local officials and the federal government to keep it contained. You can learn more about our efforts, as well as resources for you and your family, at coronavirus.wa.gov. The website specifically includes links to resources for older adults struggling as a result of COVID-19, including information on how to screen yourself for potential COVID-19 symptoms. At that website we also have available all of the data the state is using to track the spread of this virus and to try to contain it. You know, I have our older Washingtonians in mind every day since this crisis began, and not just because I’m 69 years old myself. Roughly 90 percent of the deaths from COVID-19 in our state have occurred among residents over the age of 60. The unfortunate fact is many of our generation and older are feeling isolated right now. I know this time has been excruciatingly challenging for our older residents in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, some of which have been hard hit by COVID-19 and where many have gone a long time without in-person visits out of a need for caution. continued on page 2