May 12, 2020 5.32 pm This story is over 45 months old

Typhoid and coronavirus: Lincoln filmmaker dives into research to re-release documentary

Big similarities between the two crises over 100 years apart

By Local Democracy Reporter

A local filmmaker has released a documentary about the 1904-05 typhoid crisis in Lincoln to rent, and he has spotted a few parallels with the coronavirus pandemic.

Andrew Blow has been revisiting research notes for his new documentary A City with Typhoid and discovered that many of the issues found back then can be related to today’s struggle with COVID-19.

The hospitals were full so local halls had to be turned into emergency wards, nurses were admired for heroic efforts, and the streets were quiet while trade was down. Sound familiar?

Lincoln Drill Hall being used as an emergency ward for typhoid sufferers

Andrew, who runs Blow by Blow productions, said: “Although the epidemic only affected Lincoln, there are many parallels with the COVID-19 outbreak and its impact on the city.

“The epidemic killed 131 citizens and made more than a thousand ill.

There may not have been social distancing measures, but typhoid still loomed large back then

“It was possible to contract the disease second-hand and several nurses who worked on the frontline died.”

A City with Typhoid has been made available for streaming this week, you can rent or buy it here.