African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1416: Chapter 7: Plague Rampant (Part 3)

Alice asked anxiously, ”Is this true? Is the European flu more severe than the Black Death?”

Bowers shook his head and said, ”I don’t know the truth of this news either because it is only what East Africa and France are saying. Our government institutions haven’t mentioned this claim.”

Alice asked, ”Then what should we do?”

Bowers said, ”If there’s nothing special happening recently, you’d better not go out, and we should stay as far away from crowds as possible. This is the only thing we can do.”

Alice said, ”But you have to go to the factory every day...”

Bowers said helplessly, ”Yes, I have to work; it’s unavoidable. After all, how would we survive without working? You also need to go out to buy food. I can’t shirk work, but we should stock up on some food as much as we can while prices are still low.”

”Besides, I’m in the boiler room at the factory, where there are hardly any people, so maybe I can avoid this European flu.”

Alice sighed and said, ”That’s all we can do. Oh, God! When will these hard days end?”

No wonder Alice complained so; after all, the lives of the ordinary people in the United Kingdom were greatly disrupted due to the war. Now that the war is over, there’s a plague, and it seems endless.

End of January 1920.

The epidemic in London fully broke out, and only a few days later, almost everywhere in London was full of patients infected with the European flu.

Besides London, other places in the United Kingdom were also not spared, and it was only at this time that the British government in London began to panic.

At the same time, the situation in Europe was also grim. Even in France, which had made thorough preparations, the epidemic had spread nationwide.

Furthermore, countries like Germany, Austria-Hungary, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Portugal, and others have already become epidemic zones.

Across the Atlantic Ocean, coastal cities in the United States began to witness a large number of cases, and other countries along the Atlantic were not spared either. However, the impact varied depending on proximity or level of openness.

The pandemic continued to spread globally; the European flu ”predicted” by East Africa had really arrived.

And as the first country to announce the European flu, East Africa was similarly hit by the pandemic, with its coastal areas beginning to show signs of the epidemic.

This also meant that East Africa could not keep the European flu at its borders. Fortunately, the East African Government was well-prepared, and the public had strong awareness of prevention, with relatively rich experience in dealing with epidemics, allowing the situation to remain under the control of the East African Government.

By the time February arrived, the terrifying nature of the European flu truly hit a global peak. A large number of infections led to deaths, especially in mega-cities like London and New York.

Moreover, the majority of the deceased were young and middle-aged adults, which undoubtedly further fueled the panic in various countries. In particular, in France, President Clemenceau convened an emergency meeting to introduce stricter pandemic control legislation.

After all, for the French Government today, the population is the most precious asset. After losing a large population during the war, France’s demographic structure was already severely affected. Now, Clemenceau and other French leaders definitely do not want another massive loss of population.

While France was preparing to launch a second wave of anti-epidemic efforts, Europe and America had no choice but to seek advice from France and East Africa. This was because the flu not only targeted ordinary people, but some politicians and businessmen were also affected, making people in various countries realize the terror of the European flu. All countries were forced to follow up with corresponding epidemic prevention policies.