The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-10-16
Decrease In Number of New
Cases Augurs Well For
Early Abatement.
ARE FEWER DEATHS, TOO
Local Health Office Swamped
With Belated Reports Of
Many Cases-State Situ-
alton Bad In Spots.

The number of patients admit
ted To John Marshall yesterday
jumped from twenty at five
o'clock to forty-sivc at midnight.
carrying the total Of cases admit
ted to the institution TO SIT.
sixteen conxatestcnt patients
were removed from John Mar
shall TO Baker school tcolored).
known a. emergency hospital
unit No I yesterday
Nine hundred and fifty new
cases reported nv the PLY stefan
Of the city and i.-G6 "unrcport-
ed eases revealed by city-widc
canvass by Boy and Girl Scouts
and Campfire Girls. making
total OF 2..i6. coupled with TWEEN
ty-eight additional deaths. were
announced by the city health de-
partinent last night rs yester-
days Developments In the local
influenza epidemic
Chief Health Officer Roy X Flan-
FfiFaff5 nv way OF rraSsurinE thu pee-
p1s of Richmond and alIaying pos
sihle undue alarm. YVES careful to ex-
plain chat The figures not unlikely
represe ntef belatea reports by doe
tors of cases that probably had
their origin during he earlier stages
~ the out rcak.
White he WAS not certain that this
was ne case. he vouchsafed that one
would Ae req sonahiy safe in asSana-
ing glfsT The alarming total OF e,Tle
reports a jointly by the doctors and
the BOY and Girl Scouts and Camp
fire Girls, or even the $50 new"
eases recorded by tn physicians, did
not represent eases that had develop
ed overnight or even since sunday
a.
4tdes rsfsorse9s, ytsss esslay ssaka 4 restnef
dental falling or in TIE numher OF
patients admitted to the John Mar
shall emergency hospital yesterday
serves to strengthen the belief that
the actual number OF cases OF grippe
and pneum onia that developed yes
terday probably is no greater. IL ~
great. than have been reported on
other days,
Yesterdays twenty eight deaths
carried the toll since the inception OF
the present epidemic 10 2i3. To date
a total OF 1926 cases OF influenza
and pneumonia have been reported
10 the health department
Bcia,cd Reports Received
Yesterdays avalanche OF returns
from physicians and other sources
preclndes even SO much as a hazard
say that the wave had reached its
crest and was waning would he mere
que as work Not until the process of
chrnniclinE the development of new
cases has again resumed the even
tenor OF its way will II be possible
TO get a comprehensive line on the
situation or forecast probabilities.
In the meantime. the situation
throughout the state. and in certain
localities particularly continues to
cause the state health authorities no
little concern.
So serious has The spread OF the
disease become in Buena Vista and
Clifton Forge that plans looking to
the establishment OF emergency hos
pitfalls at these places have been put
afoot.
4 long distance telephone mesa &c
to the state board OF health from
Buena Vista yesterday afternoon said
that fifty per cent of the towns pom
ulation Of 5000 was afflicted with one
or another form OF influenza.
Twenty five per cent of the 10000
inhabitants of Clifton Forge is SUI
fering with grippe ard pneumonia
according to adNces to the depart
ment. The present hospital facilities
were represented in kilograms as pit
fully inadequate and arrangements
are under way to convert the Eagles
home at that place into an emergency
, hospital Accommodations for fifty pa
tients are being provided.
Equipment for both the Buena
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