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The Pandemic That Ravaged Canada and Its Lessons for Today | The Pandemic That Ravaged Canada and Its Lessons for Today |
(about 8 hours later) | |
These days, walking around downtown Ottawa, and likely most other places in Canada, is an experience that’s both encouraging and melancholy. | These days, walking around downtown Ottawa, and likely most other places in Canada, is an experience that’s both encouraging and melancholy. |
Even the most casual stroll — if walks that involve stepping off the sidewalk to maintain two meters of separation can be called casual — suggests that most people are heeding calls for social distancing to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. But the empty streets, darkened shops and restaurants with “To Our Customers” notices on their doors, and empty buses grinding along at rush hour only reinforces how much of our lives have been put on hold. | Even the most casual stroll — if walks that involve stepping off the sidewalk to maintain two meters of separation can be called casual — suggests that most people are heeding calls for social distancing to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. But the empty streets, darkened shops and restaurants with “To Our Customers” notices on their doors, and empty buses grinding along at rush hour only reinforces how much of our lives have been put on hold. |
Over the course of the week, there were several announcements in Canada that would have been unthinkable just three weeks ago. As of Saturday we’ll be largely closed off to the rest of the world, except for freight shipments and some essential travelers. As part of that, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Friday that the asylum seekers who have made Roxham Road the best-known dead-end street in Canada will now be sent back to the United States. | Over the course of the week, there were several announcements in Canada that would have been unthinkable just three weeks ago. As of Saturday we’ll be largely closed off to the rest of the world, except for freight shipments and some essential travelers. As part of that, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Friday that the asylum seekers who have made Roxham Road the best-known dead-end street in Canada will now be sent back to the United States. |
[Read: In Shift, Trudeau Says Canada Will Return Asylum Seekers to U.S.] | [Read: In Shift, Trudeau Says Canada Will Return Asylum Seekers to U.S.] |
And while restrictions on domestic travel haven’t been formally imposed, the shutdown of galleries, museums, ski resorts and pretty much anything else you’d likely visit while on vacation has effectively told everyone to stay put. | And while restrictions on domestic travel haven’t been formally imposed, the shutdown of galleries, museums, ski resorts and pretty much anything else you’d likely visit while on vacation has effectively told everyone to stay put. |
And as industrial employees, airline workers and even much of the staff at The Hockey News were sent home on temporary layoffs, oil prices continued to plummet. | And as industrial employees, airline workers and even much of the staff at The Hockey News were sent home on temporary layoffs, oil prices continued to plummet. |
At The Times, more than 360 journalists have been publishing a torrent of stories about the pandemic, roughly 100 a day. You can reach them all through here. And, as I mentioned last week, our coronavirus coverage is open to everyone without a subscription. | At The Times, more than 360 journalists have been publishing a torrent of stories about the pandemic, roughly 100 a day. You can reach them all through here. And, as I mentioned last week, our coronavirus coverage is open to everyone without a subscription. |
[Read: The Latest Updates on the Coronavirus Pandemic] | [Read: The Latest Updates on the Coronavirus Pandemic] |
Within all of that material, there have been several articles offering practical advice. Here are a few that I have found useful: | Within all of that material, there have been several articles offering practical advice. Here are a few that I have found useful: |
— Tech columnist Brian X. Chen who, like me, is a longtime work-at-home type, offers advice for newcomers when it comes to sorting out technical issues. His key point: “Less is better, especially fewer gadgets and fewer work apps. That principle can guide us to a simpler, less frustrating setup that enables us to work well with our colleagues.” | — Tech columnist Brian X. Chen who, like me, is a longtime work-at-home type, offers advice for newcomers when it comes to sorting out technical issues. His key point: “Less is better, especially fewer gadgets and fewer work apps. That principle can guide us to a simpler, less frustrating setup that enables us to work well with our colleagues.” |
— In Cooking, Margaux Laskey offers some meal suggestions for people in self-quarantine. | — In Cooking, Margaux Laskey offers some meal suggestions for people in self-quarantine. |
— And for those of you who can get outside for exercise, Talya Minsberg makes a compelling case to go running. | — And for those of you who can get outside for exercise, Talya Minsberg makes a compelling case to go running. |
As the number of confirmed cases and deaths continue to build in Canada, many people have drawn parallels with the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. Its toll was devastating. It killed an estimated 55,000 people in Canada by the time it ran out of steam in 1920, when the country had a population of just 8.7 million. No one really knows how many people died worldwide, but estimates range between 50 and 100 million. | As the number of confirmed cases and deaths continue to build in Canada, many people have drawn parallels with the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. Its toll was devastating. It killed an estimated 55,000 people in Canada by the time it ran out of steam in 1920, when the country had a population of just 8.7 million. No one really knows how many people died worldwide, but estimates range between 50 and 100 million. |
There are many differences between the Spanish flu and the current coronavirus. They include the previous pandemic’s greater lethality as well as enormous advances in medicine, particularly the development of antibiotics. Many Spanish flu victims were actually killed by secondary bacterial infections that, for the most part, can be treated today. | There are many differences between the Spanish flu and the current coronavirus. They include the previous pandemic’s greater lethality as well as enormous advances in medicine, particularly the development of antibiotics. Many Spanish flu victims were actually killed by secondary bacterial infections that, for the most part, can be treated today. |
To get a fix on what that earlier pandemic can tell us about today’s crisis, I spoke with Mark Humphries, a historian and the director of the Laurier Center for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies at Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. Professor Humphries’ books include “The Last Plague: Spanish Influenza and the Politics of Public Health in Canada.” Our conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity. | To get a fix on what that earlier pandemic can tell us about today’s crisis, I spoke with Mark Humphries, a historian and the director of the Laurier Center for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies at Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. Professor Humphries’ books include “The Last Plague: Spanish Influenza and the Politics of Public Health in Canada.” Our conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity. |
A native of Windsor, Ontario, Ian Austen was educated in Toronto, lives in Ottawa and has reported about Canada for The New York Times for the past 16 years. Follow him on Twitter at @ianrausten. | A native of Windsor, Ontario, Ian Austen was educated in Toronto, lives in Ottawa and has reported about Canada for The New York Times for the past 16 years. Follow him on Twitter at @ianrausten. |
We’re eager to have your thoughts about this newsletter and events in Canada in general. Please send them to nytcanada@nytimes.com. | We’re eager to have your thoughts about this newsletter and events in Canada in general. Please send them to nytcanada@nytimes.com. |
Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up here. | Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up here. |