The Influenza Advisory Committee announced the end to the influenza ban in Los Angeles
On Nov. 18, 1918, the Los Angeles Influenza Advisory Committee announced the end to the influenza ban, effective November 21, 1918. Despite the good news, bickering broke out again, this time between the Mayor and City Council over which, exactly, had the authority to lift the ban.
The bans stayed in place. For the rest of November, as theater owners and dry goods representatives continued hounding City Council, its sessions grew increasingly dramatic, with name-calling and some theater owners storming out in protest.
On November 29, the number of new reported influenza cases fell below 350. Health Commissioner Powers and the Influenza Advisory Committee asked City Council members to pass an ordinance lifting the ban effective Monday, December 2 and to include provisions for the mandatory home isolation of influenza and pneumonia cases.
Alas, Angelinos did not enjoy their return to normalcy for long, as the epidemic was not yet truly over.
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Source: Influenza Encyclopedia
Credit: Photo: Douglas Fairbanks holding Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford on his shoulders in Hollywood. During the epidemic. Courtesy University of Michigan Center for the History of Medicine.
