EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — If there’s one lesson to be learned about the 1918 Spanish flu that’s useful amid the present COVID-19 pandemic, it’s to not let your guard down.
The deadly strain of influenza that felled 20 million people worldwide struck the border not once, but thrice in the early 20th century. That was a time well before terms like “social distancing” and “stay home, work safe” were coined.
El Paso historian Fred Morales says the Spanish flu arrived in El Paso in May 1918, kept a low profile through the summer, then came back with a vengeance in the fall. The disease originated in Asia, he said, spread to the Iberic Peninsula of Europe (Spain and Portugal) and likely was brought to the United States by soldiers coming back from World War I. Other accounts state that the Spanish flu was first observed in Europe, the United States and parts of Asia before spreading to the rest of the world.
“About 36 people were dying per day. The Mexican quarter called ‘Chihuahuita’ was very much affected. Over 100 people died […] but over 200 died living north of the railroad tracks, what today is known as Main Street,” Morales said.
Hospitals and medical workers were overwhelmed. Downtown buildings were equipped to handle the overflow of patients and the Red Cross recruited anyone with basic medical training or who knew how to care for the sick.
“Hospitals like Providence and Hotel Dieu were heavily utilized and filled to capacity. In those times, we didn’t have a lot of well-trained nurses and we didn’t have a lot of doctors,” Morales said.
By early October, city authorities realized they had a potential catastrophe on their hands and took extreme measures: schools, theaters and churches were closed for a week.
“They did shut down the schools, theaters, saloons and pool halls. No open-air meetings were allowed, just like it occurred during the current (COVID-19) pandemic,” Morales said.
But the fatalities continued and El Paso came to a virtual standstill. The street car and other modes of transportation were halted and vehicles were fumigated, he said.
The neighboring communities of Fort Bliss and Juarez, Mexico also reported fatalities from the virus. Morales says the disease was characterized by fever, coughing and sneezing and often led to complications in the lungs such as pneumonia — much like today’s coronavirus.
El Paso appeared to slowly beat the outbreak by going into a five-week quarantine through early November 1918, Morales said.
“The Health Department and the Red Cross put out a massive campaign to educate people about the influenza disease. They went door to door canvassing every house,” he said. “They did an excellent job in quarantining houses with infected. There was even one house in Chihuahuita where 20 people were living and they were all infected.”
But then came the Armistice and the end of World War I. People inevitably took to the streets in celebration.
“Everything went back to normal by early November. Even a big military parade was held,” Morales said. “A big crowd assembled in El Paso High School to celebrate the end of the war. Even San Jacinto Plaza was jam-packed with thousands of spectators and I would think these events led to another outbreak of the influenza disease in December 1918.”
When all was said and done by March 1919, El Paso and Fort Bliss had recorded a combined 350 fatalities while Juarez lost between 50 and 75 people, Morales said.
The tables have turned since then: El Paso had recorded only nine COVID-19 fatalities as of Tuesday; Juarez 32.
“The difference is today is that most of us wear masks or scarves. We practice social distancing. We adhere to more strict regulations by city authorities. Back then it was a different scenario. They didn’t practice such measures,” Morales said.
And twice, they let their guard down.
An American policeman wearing a ‘Flu Mask’ to protect himself from the outbreak of Spanish flu following World War I. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images) 
27th February 1919: A woman wearing a flu mask during the flu epidemic which followed the First World War. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images) 
A patient wearing a flu mask during the flu epidemic which followed the First World War. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images) 
A man sprays the inside of a bus of the London General Omnibus Co with anti-flu preparation during the flu epidemic which followed the First World War, London, 2nd March 1920. (Photo by H. F. Davis/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images) 
The congregation praying on the steps of the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, where they gathered to hear mass and pray during the influenza epidemic, San Francisco, California. (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images) 
Nurses care for victims of a Spanish influenza epidemic outdoors amidst canvas tents during an outdoor fresh air cure, Lawrence, Massachusetts, 1918 (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) 
Women from the Department of War take 15-minute walks to breathe in fresh air every morning and night to ward off the influenza virus during World War I, c. 1918. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) 
A man spraying the top of a bus with an anti-flu virus during an epidemic which followed World War I. (Photo by Davis/Getty Images) 
A man sprays a bus of the London General Omnibus Co, with anti-flu preparation, in an attempt to kill the virus during the flu epidemic which followed the First World War, London, 2nd March 1920. (Photo by H. F. Davis/Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) 
A doctor innoculates Major Peters of Boston against the Spanish Influenza virus during the epidemic, c. 1918. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) 
Court is held outdoors in a park due to the Influenza Epidemic, San Francisco, 1918. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) 
1st March 1919: Two men wearing and advocating the use of flu masks in Paris during the Spanish flu epidemic which followed World War I. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
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