Streetcar conductors were ordered to prohibit anyone without a mask from boarding. Ten would-be riders were arrested on the first day the order went into effect and each offender ordered to pay bail of $5. Mayor Ole Hanson insisted masks be worn without exception, telling commuters to find one “or tomorrow morning they will walk to work.”
Past Pandemics: Stopping the Flu Epidemic in Seattle, 1918
More than 100 years ago, the world struggled with another epidemic, known as the Spanish Flu. In many cities at the time, streetcars were the main form of transportation, so cities set strict rules on social distancing.
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As it is doing today, the city of Seattle fought to contain another flu epidemic more than a century ago. When the pandemic worsened in the fall of 1918, it was decreed that everyone should wear a mask in any situation where people were in close contact.
Streetcar conductors were ordered to prohibit anyone without a mask from boarding. Ten would-be riders were arrested on the first day the order went into effect and each offender ordered to pay bail of $5. Mayor Ole Hanson insisted masks be worn without exception, telling commuters to find one “or tomorrow morning they will walk to work.”
Streetcar conductors were ordered to prohibit anyone without a mask from boarding. Ten would-be riders were arrested on the first day the order went into effect and each offender ordered to pay bail of $5. Mayor Ole Hanson insisted masks be worn without exception, telling commuters to find one “or tomorrow morning they will walk to work.”
