The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1920-02-12
influenza An TO
Be OFz \TURDAY
CITY HEALTH OLA AIS BEllVE
QUARANTINE "a 'LATloNs
MAY BE SAFEL9 q MOVED
NO DEATHS At THE HOs@' nal THIS WEEK
Only Four Patients in Hospital Thurs
day ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Have
Been Cared for There.

The best news" in Brookings this
week is the information that the local
health officers feel justified in declar
ing there no longer exists any neces
sity for continuing the restrictions
upon public meetings that have been
in force for week on account of the
prevalence in the city ard surround
ing country of influenza. The city
physician, DR.. E. C. Miller, yesterday
authorized the Register to state that
after next Saturday morning there will
be no restrictions whatever upon pub
lie meetings of any kind nor upon any
business places. Aside from the re-
lief the raising of all restrictions on
business and social activity brings to
the public is the assurance this official
action gives that the health officers
believe the epidemic is thoroughly
under control and the danger of A
worse condition of health in the COM
munity abated.
All the physicians of the city and
others competent to express an opin-
ion upon the subject agree that the
partial quarantine which has existed
since Thursday of last week was wise
ly imposed. They point to the afct
that, while there have been many
cases of illness in this community
diagnosed as influenza, there have
been no more deaths than during a
like time OF normal health conditions
ton was especially called to the pos
sible seriousness of conditions, many
who might otherwise have neglected
proper precautions to prevent cont
tagion or treatment when first at,
tackled avoided more serious results
than have been suffered.
On the other hand, many who are
not in sympathy with restrictive reg
ulation of public intercourse point out
that while formal public meetings
were forbidden there was practically
no restriction placed upon crowds
gathering in places of business; that
the State college was not included in
the quarantine measures, and was
even permitted to display advertising
matter urging all the students to meet
last Friday evening at the Northwest
basketball team typical college stu
dent send off" on the occasion of the
departure Of the team for a game in
another city and that in fact several
hundred students did crowd to over
flowing the station for nearly an hour
at the time the train departed. These
declare that such crowds nullified any
possible effects Of the closing of the
churches, public schools and certain
other places.
But the epidemic, if it was such, is
officially declared abated and the quar-
antine will be off next Saturday, so
let's all quit sneezing or kicking,
whichever we have been doing and
congratulate ourselves thar it was no
worse for the people generally, while
we sincerely sympathize with those
who have suffered from the terrible
scourge in greater or less degree.
Since the Red Cross emergency hos
pital was opened it has handled "a
patients. This Thursday morning
there are but four patients in the hos
pital, and the city hall which has
housed them since February will
soon be thoroughly fumigated and re-
stored to its normal uses. In this
connection the Register is requested
by physicians of the city to express
their high appreciation of the assist.
ance rendered to the public by the
splendid women who have given so
much of that time to the care OF
patients. One woman of the city, in
addition to the nurses in charge who
were mentioned in this paper last
week, has been especially commended
by the physicians whose patients were
taken to the hospital She is Mrs
v. L. McGill Other women, it is
true, rendered invaluable service al
times, and there was no lack of such
assistance, but it is said that Mrs
McGill is one who came at the first
call for help and remained on duty
throughout the hard siege, giving her
whole time to the work freely and
without regard to any personal in
terests.