On Oct. 17, 1918, Kansas City Mayor Cowgill, after recognizing the earlier closure was premature, ordered a second closure and gathering ban, which extended to events and parties, and emphasized home quarantine for influenza cases.

The order went into effect immediately, once again closing all theaters, churches, and schools. Unlike the first order, the gathering ban now applied to dances, parties, weddings, and funerals as well. Hotels, cabarets, and restaurants were barred from having music or other amusements.

Stores employing twenty-five or more employees could not open before 9 am nor close after 4 pm, and crowding in city stores and shops was forbidden. Lastly, all cases were to be isolated with their homes placed under quarantine. Kansas City had finally gotten serious about its epidemic.