On Oct. 3, 1918, Cincinnati Health Officer Dr. William H. Peters responded to the influenza threat by enacting hospital measures to protect people, although one of the earliest cases had already resulted in death.

Peters strongly cautioned Cincinnati residents to refrain from visiting soldiers at Camp Sherman in Chillico (100 miles to the west), and recommended that they also stay away from theaters, movie houses, and public meetings. He told residents that there was no undue cause for alarm and claimed that there was no epidemic as of yet in the city.