Delmarva during the 1918 pandemic is Feb. 4 program topic

Rehoboth Beach Museum will host We’ve Been There Before: Delmarva During the 1918 Pandemic, a program presented by local historian Mike Dixon at 2:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 4, via Zoom.

Dixon, a speaker with Delaware Humanities, will discuss the 1918 pandemic and its similarities to what people are experiencing now with the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

The program examines the impact of the so-called Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1918 on Delmarva and nearby points. The virus took a grim toll on the Delmarva region, and it overwhelmed the healthcare system, forcing the region to shut down for an extended period.

Although it wasn’t called social distancing in the early 20th century, the methods used to halt the contagion are similar to what is practiced today. Participants will take a relevant look at the past to see how people in the region 102 years ago managed a similar situation at a time when medical science did not have a treatment for the pathogen.

For more than 40 years, Dixon has worked to encourage public interest and participation in the preservation of the past while creating understandings between earlier eras and the present.

Registration is required; go to rehobothbeachmuseum.org. Donations to help support future programming may also be made via the website.