San Francisco had the 1918 flu under control. And then it lifted the restrictions.

[mfcorey1]

When the clock struck noon, the masks came off.

It was Nov. 21, 1918, and San Francisco residents gathered in the streets to celebrate not only the recent end of World War I and the Allies' victory, but also the end of an onerous ordinance that shut down the city and required all residents and visitors to wear face coverings in public to stop the spread of the so-called Spanish flu.

A blaring whistle alerted gratified residents across the city and, as the San Francisco Chronicle reported at the time, "the sidewalks and runnels were strewn with the relics of a torturous month," despite warnings from the health department to maintain face coverings. As celebrations continued and residents flocked to theaters, restaurants and other public spaces soon thereafter, city officials would soon learn their problems were far from over.

Now, amid the coronavirus pandemic, as President Donald Trump urges the reopening of the country and some states, such as Georgia, move to resume normal business even as new cases emerge, how officials acted during the 1918 flu pandemic, specifically in cities such as San Francisco, offers a cautionary tale about the dangers of doing so too soon.

Alex Navarro, the assistant director of the Center for the History of Medicine at the University of Michigan, which detailed historical accounts of the 1918-19 flu pandemic in 43 cities, told NBC News in a phone interview that officials often acted quickly at the time but restrictions were eased to varying degrees.

"There was a lot of pressure in pretty much all of these American cities to reopen," said Navarro, whose research was done in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "When they removed those restrictions too soon, then many cities saw a resurgence in cases."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/san-francisco-had-the-1918-flu-under-control-and-then-it-lifted-the-restrictions/ar-BB13bjQ3?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=mailsignout

[sfstaxprep]

1. I Sincerely Am Hoping The Sane Governors Follow This Warning

[Cha]

2. My Grandfather passed on from the "Spanish" flu in 1919..

in a small town in Colorado. He was working at the train station. My dad was a 2 year old baby. It hit my Grandma hard.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

3. K&R

[JCMach1]

4. Clear Trump is unwilling to do what needs to be done here

So we have to .make planning for an election in a full blown 5 alarm pandemic a priority

[Blue_true]

6. I agree. Republicans will work as hard as possible to make voting by mail impossible.

Many people are going to have to risk going out to vote to get rid of the monster and other republicans.

[uponit7771]

5. K&R, Same with Singapore 2020 ... they stopped testing and bamn 11,000 this week ish

[coti]

7. And my great-grandfather died of that flu 6 weeks later, without meeting

his unborn son. He was in his prime.

They weren't from San Francisco, however.