The Spanish Flu started in 1918 and ended in 1920 when a vaccine was developed. Early social distancing measures, closing down of public places, and requirements for ALL members of the general public to wear masks is credited with reducing transmission and deaths of that flu. A health official shot three people when one decided not to wear a mask in public.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...-1918-spanish-flu-pandemic-coronavirus/#close
Second waves occurred any time quarantine measures were relaxed. So if we take the same road with covid-19, we're going to have to tip-toe within a police state for a minimum of a year, likely longer. Those 4 months of $2k government cheques won't be sufficient.
There is scant economic data to draw from during the Spanish Flue and the decade that followed.
Some articles try to put a positive spin on it suggesting it was brutal but didn't last long:
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/3/31/21199874/coronavirus-spanish-flu-social-distancing
Others suggest that the economic downturn may have been short term for the Spanish Flu, but future pandemics such as covid may have far deeper and longer term impacts :
"Garrett's grim conclusion: "Given our highly mobile and connected society, any future influenza pandemic is likely to be more severe in its reach, and perhaps in its virulence, than the 1918 influenza despite improvements in health care over the past 90 years….Unfortunately, a 2005 report suggests that the United States is not prepared for an influenza pandemic. Although federal, state and local governments in the United States have started to focus on preparedness in recent years, it is fair to say that progress has been slow, especially at local levels of government."
https://reason.com/2020/03/20/what-...ics-can-tell-us-about-the-covid-19-aftermath/
