As the Spanish Influenza pandemic struck Warren County harder and harder, an expanded call for medical help — and additional restrictions — were required. The Warren Evening Times in the Oct. 22, 1918, edition blasted the following headline: "Extra precautions taken to stop spread of plague in Borough; Nurses needed." For story, see page A-2.

As the Spanish Influenza pandemic struck Warren County harder and harder, an expanded call for medical help — and additional restrictions — were required.

The Warren Evening Times in the Oct. 22, 1918 edition blasted the following headline: “Extra precautions taken to stop spread of plague in Borough; Nurses needed.”

“Reports made by the physicians to the Board of Health today (show) there is a slight increase in cases of influenza in the city, although conditions are not any more serious than they have been in the past two weeks. Yesterday afternoon, and up to 2 o’clock today, there were 23 cases reported to the Board of Health. The onset in several of these cases occurred as far back as last Friday.”

But the restrictions kept coming.

“At a meeting of the board held last evening in the city building, it was decided to order the closing of the soda water and soft drink places until all danger… has passed,” the report states. “The order went into effect this morning.”

As the Spanish Influenza pandemic struck Warren County harder and harder, an expanded call for medical help — and additional restrictions — were required. The Warren Evening Times in the Oct. 22, 1918, edition blasted the following headline: "Extra precautions taken to stop spread of plague in Borough; Nurses needed." For story, see page A-2.

Does a restaurant closure sound familiar?

The paper reported the entire order: “By the Board of Health of Warren Borough, pennsylvania, by virtue of the power in it vested, that in order to better safeguard the health of its inhabitants of this Borough against influenza, the following orders in addition to those heretofore adopted are hereby adopted: 1. All soda water and ice cream parlors are hereby ordered closed until further notice by the board. 2. The selling place of soft drinks to be consumed on the premises is hereby prohibited until further notice from this board. 3. All open air meetings, parades and celebrations are hereby prohibited until further notice from this board. This is to (address) all Halloween celebrations. (signed) Board of Health of Warren Borough.”

An October 23 report notes that the “influenza situation is on (the) decrease (as) was shown by reports today at the Board of Health.”

But the challenge wasn’t necessarily the number of new cases but, rather, the ability of the healthcare system to respond.

“The Health Board and physicians have been unable to secure (a) sufficient number of nurses,” the paper reported. “Eight of the twenty-one nurses at the General hospital are now down with the influenza and some little difficulty is being experienced in enough competent help to take care of the regular patients, but a majority of the nurses are now improving and will soon be back on the job.

“Only one of the nurses was at all in a serious condition at any time. This was Miss Lillian Ostergard, and a report from the hospital this afternoon was to the effect that her condition was much improved.”

It appears that the hospital was run by a “Superintendent Mitchell.”

“Illness among the doctors and nurses has added to the (serious) situation, but Superintendent Mitchell declares that those who have not been stricken with the disease are doing noble work, in many instances working double time in order to relieve the situation.

“There are a few severe (cases) at the institution, the Superintendent reports, but the average will not run any higher than it does in other places.”

It was also reported that the “outside influenza patients at the hospital are all reported to be doing nicely and none of them are in a critical condition,” which suggests that the hospital ran out of beds and had set up facilities to care for patients outdoors.

Out of the box solutions were considered when it came to caring for patients.

The Oct. 20 report further indicates that “a meeting of the various ministers of the city will probably be held in conjunction with the Board of Health to devise some plan for securing nurses to care for those families who are unable to secure proper (treatment).”

And in a day when patient confidentiality apparently didn’t matter, the paper ran the names and addresses of all newly reported cases.

“The following cases were reported to the Board of Health late yesterday afternoon and up to 1 o’clock this afternoon: J.M. Anderson, 321 N. Carver, (6 cases) Janice Miller, 420 Chestnut; Anna Lesser, 27 Linwood; Arvid A. Anderson, 105 Dartmouth; George N. Wood, 830 W. Fifth; Lacy, 220 Center St.; Mildred Swanson, General Hospital; Arthur Johnson, 706 Conewango; Harold Dixon, 2037 Penn. Ave. E.; Roy Miller, 420 Chestnut; Harry W. Byers, 623 Conewango; Mrs. Peter Flick, 2013 Penn. Ave.”

This is the fourth story on the Spanish Flu of 1918 in Warren County and beyond.