Each day – more like each hour – the coronavirus sparks news of more infections, deaths, fears and closures.

A century ago, another viral scourge devastated the world.

It’s fitting to briefly compare these two moments, to see what lessons the past can teach.

The Spanish flu pandemic in 1918-19 killed at least 50 million people worldwide in 1918, including 675,000 in the U.S.

Harrisburg experienced the devastation, too, with hundreds dying and thousands infected.

The pandemic upended daily life in Harrisburg, the region and beyond. Here is a look at how the flu affected central Pennsylvania, according to newspaper accounts.

Adjusting to the pandemic

In early October 1918, the state and the city of Harrisburg instituted closures to prevent large groups of people from gathering and spreading the disease. Schools, churches, bars, theaters and dance halls were among the closures, which lasted five weeks. Only close relatives could attend funerals. Many sports events were canceled.

City stores closed at 6:30 p.m. Saturdays to prevent shopping during their busiest times. Harrisburg Health Officer Dr. John M.J. Raunick ordered streetcars, the primary way people traveled locally, to keep at least half of their windows open to increase airflow.

More: Click here for all of PennLive’s coronavirus coverage.

Because so many phone operators had contracted the flu, Bell Telephone Co. urged residents not to use their phones unless necessary.

“Don’t jeopardize lives by demanding unessential service from the small remaining number of operators who are doing their utmost now,” Bell said in an ad.

Harrisburg Mayor Daniel Keister ordered police to enforce a city ordinance making spitting a misdemeanor.

Of course, these were mere inconveniences. The flu, after all, had much more damaging consequences.

Disease takes toll

To take pressure off Harrisburg Hospital, the city opened an emergency hospital at the Open Air School at Fifth and Seneca streets. The school, designed by famed Harrisburg architect Charles Howard Lloyd, educated children with tuberculosis and was therefore well-suited to serve flu patients. This makeshift hospital treated more than 200 patients in 1918.

St. Paul’s Baptist Church was equipped to serve as an emergency hospital for African American flu patients in an effort led by Dr. Charles H. Crampton and the Rev. E. Luther Cunningham.

Steelton opened an emergency hospital of 15 tents on Cottage Hill. The use of tent hospitals was effective elsewhere. In York, for example, hospital tents were established on the fairgrounds, where today WellSpan has set up a drive-thru coronavirus testing site.

Some of those who treated patients contracted the virus and died.

Dr. Hyman R. Wiener of Harrisburg, respected by other physicians as a diagnostician and known for giving free services to the poor, died of pneumonia as a result of the flu.

Elsie M. Wilver, a 19-year-old Harrisburg Hospital nurse in training, died from pneumonia that she likely contracted from flu patients she attended to.

The flu left large families destitute. The Associated Aids Society requested money, clothing and groceries to help them. Five children of a New Cumberland-area family lost their parents to the flu. Nearby, the disease also claimed a father of seven who was caring for his ailing family.

Near Carlisle, Merchant Marine John Beecher, returning home to attend the funeral of his brother, a Navy reservist who died from the flu, contracted the disease and died.

World War I and the war at home

That’s another thing: There was a war on.

Communities across the country had launched Liberty Loan drives to fund the war effort. In the fall of 1918, though, the effort to win the war against Germany sometimes conflicted with the fight against the flu.

Local historian Jake Wynn writes that a parade promoting Liberty Loans in Lykens led to the spread of flu throughout the Williams Valley.

In the Harrisburg district, which consisted of Dauphin, Perry and Juniata counties, donations were falling short. Organizers blamed the belief that the war was nearing the end, alleged pro-German sentiment in Juniata County and the flu for the shortfall.

Because of the flu, Harrisburg organizers canceled a large luncheon to promote the war bonds, but several hundred people went door to door in the city to solicit subscriptions. In York, residents bought bonds from neighborhood chairmen. It’s unknown if these actions caused the flu to spread in either city.

State and local officials lifted quarantine restrictions Nov. 5, and places that had closed reopened. Then a major parade marking the war’s end caused thousands to rub shoulders. Flu hospitalizations and deaths continued into early 1919.

The Spanish flu exacted a heavy toll on central Pennsylvania: It disrupted everyday life and sickened and killed residents. The efforts of state and local health officials most likely prevented it from getting worse.

And among the lessons for the coronavirus crisis? Lifting the closures too soon could prolong the battle.

The flu’s death toll? The journal Pennsylvania History gives a grim tally: 528 people died in Harrisburg, about 440 of them residents.

Joe McClure is a news editor for PennLive/The Patriot-News. Email him at jmcclure@advancelocal.com, and follow him on Twitter: @jmcclure59.

More from Joe McClure:

· Movies sparked racial division, immorality concerns in central Pennsylvania a century ago

· Telling fortunes or acting ‘evil,’ the nomadic Roma fascinated central Pa. a century ago

· Uber of a century ago: Harrisburg jitney buses challenged trolley company

· Racial tensions in Harrisburg turned violent in 1969

· Central Pa. teens grappled with Cold War challenges

· Harrisburg’s first policewoman was appointed 100 years ago

· Fallout shelters sparked controversy in central Pennsylvania during Cold War