With the coronavirus pandemic putting a wrench in the lifestyle of everyone, some may wonder what it was like to live through the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 and according to the director of the DeWitt County Museum, we might be as close as we'll ever get.

Joey Woolridge says there is a wealth of information that suggests the times we're in right now are very similar to what it was like in 1918 at the start of the Spanish Flu pandemic that according to the CDC, infected up to a third of the world's population.

Woolridge says the news, like the coronavirus, started just as small sidenotes in the local paper and grew from there.

Over the weekend on Regional Radio, you heard from Woolridge discussing a football game in Clinton that was canceled which began the snowball effect of changes. Much like the events the second week of March with school being canceled and pro sports leagues shutting down, the events locally in 1918 will sound very familiar.

The hygiene recommendations are going to sound very familiar as well. Woolridge indicates hand washing, covering a cough and staying home if you weren't feeling well were heavily promoted as well as only the illest visiting the hospital.

More similarities include the New York Stock Exchange taking a hit and notable world leaders being stricken with the disease.

The death toll from just September 1918 to November 1918 was 35 and over 1,300 cases in Clinton.

Woolridge has posted much, much more on social media. You can follow the DeWitt County Museum Facebook page for more.