COVID-19 isn’t the first pandemic to hit Saskatchewan, but it’s likely the first one you’ve lived through. In 1918, it was almost the end of the First World War.
Canadians started to hear about a new type of flu spreading across Europe and weren’t initially concerned. “It’s really a lot like today,” City of Saskatoon archivist Jeff O’Brien said. “We kind of watched it coming and it really starts out like someone else’s problem.
By August the big news is it’s kind of ripping through American military bases.” Spanish flu symptoms are similar to influenza today.
Doctors said avoiding crowds, a healthy diet, good hygiene, fresh air and regular bowel movements were key to not getting the illness.