Over one hundred years ago in 1918, the first World War was ending, and the Spanish Flu was running rampant across the globe.

In less than two years, influenza took more lives than the war did in five years. Approximately 20 million people perished from the Spanish Flu worldwide and an estimated 17 million people were killed in the Great War.

In Canada, 50,000 people died of the Spanish Flu, of which 5,000 were from Saskatchewan. The epidemic was overshadowed by the end of the First World War, which coincided around the same time as the peak of the epidemic. It is perhaps one reason why the influenza virus spread so quickly, as communities were unable to respond fast enough.

One of the first public mentions of the Spanish Flu in Saskatchewan was issued by the Regina Leader newspaper on October 1, 1918.  Over the next three months, the disease continued to spread, with the peak of deaths occurring in mid-November 1918.

The Spanish Flu largely affected people between the ages of twenty and forty years, unlike other diseases that seem to target the very young and the very old.  Once people became infected, many victims died within twenty-four hours while others suffered from the illness and usually died on the tenth day.

The City of Swift Current was not immune from the impact of the Spanish Flu.  On October 22, 1918, the Sun published an article announcing that the apartments above the Lyric Theatre were converted into a makeshift hospital to help accommodate the overflow of infected patients.

The article further states that the Provincial Department of Public Health converted other public buildings in makeshift hospitals as well to help slow the spread of the virus.  As the beds filled up quickly there became a nursing shortage and help was scarce.

The City Health Department assigned Nurse Lapp to oversee the patients at the Lyric Theatre. By October 29, 1918, all 26 beds at the Theatre were occupied. 

With all the hospitals bursting at the seams and with so little help for the sick, City Council closed all public places to encourage people to stay at home.

By the end of 1918, victims outnumbered the soldiers from the war in Saskatchewan. The Spanish Flu highlighted several issues, from the magnitude and speed at which a virus can devastate so many lives in such a short time, and demonstrating that self-isolation is the easiest and quickest way to help slow the spread of the virus.

While the Spanish Flu had a major effect upon Saskatchewan, there is no single large archival collection to tell the full story of this disease’s impact upon the province; however, what seems to be clear is that timely and proactive measures are necessary to save lives.

In terms of emergency management today, the City and the provincial health authority have a plan in case make-shift health centers are needed to ease the strain on the hospital.  Typically, school gyms and other public buildings that have larges spaces are used. So far, Swift Current is not in that position to repeat 1918 history.