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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMask resistance during a pandemic isn't new - in 1918 many Americans were 'slackers'
We have all seen the alarming headlines: Coronavirus cases are surging in 40 states, with new cases and hospitalization rates climbing at an alarming rate. Health officials have warned that the U.S. must act quickly to halt the spread or we risk losing control over the pandemic.
Theres a clear consensus that Americans should wear masks in public and continue to practice proper social distancing. While a majority of Americans support wearing masks, widespread and consistent compliance has proven difficult to maintain in communities across the country. Demonstrators gathered outside city halls in Scottsdale, Arizona; Austin, Texas; and other cities to protest local mask mandates. Several South Carolina sheriffs have announced they will not enforce their states mask order.
Ive researched the history of the 1918 pandemic extensively. At that time, with no effective vaccine or drug therapies, communities across the country instituted a host of public health measures to slow the spread of a deadly influenza epidemic: They closed schools and businesses, banned public gatherings and isolated and quarantined those who were infected. Many communities recommended or required that citizens wear face masks in public and this, not the onerous lockdowns, drew the most ire.
In mid-October of 1918, amidst a raging epidemic in the Northeast and rapidly growing outbreaks nationwide, the United States Public Health Service circulated leaflets recommending that all citizens wear a mask. The Red Cross took out newspaper ads encouraging their use and offered instructions on how to construct masks at home using gauze and cotton string. Some state health departments launched their own initiatives, most notably California, Utah and Washington.
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https://www.yahoo.com/news/mask-resistance-during-pandemic-isnt-115358176.html
soothsayer
(38,601 posts)Drumpf claimed to have read a book about the 1917 pandemic.
Maybe he should have read the 1918 one.
RKP5637
(67,104 posts)RKP5637
(67,104 posts)less if they die, their choice, but am concerned about them spreading it to others.
Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)during the Polio outbreak in the forties,so many folks refused to cover up and we buried them that winter.