Then and now: Mask mandates

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — Masks are now mandated in public in the state of Indiana, but this is not the first time Hoosiers have been required to don face coverings.

During the 1918 Spanish Influenza, which killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide, masks were required to help slow the spread of the flu.

WANE 15 collected photos from a variety of sources that show what life was like in the early 1900s, and today.

These photos are from the PBS Station in Fort Wayne and the National Archives:

Courtesy American Experience PBS/WGBH, Boston
Courtesy American Experience PBS/WGBH, Boston
Courtesy American Experience PBS/WGBH, Boston
Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration
Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration
Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration
Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration

A collection of newspaper clippings from the Allen County Public Library depict life in 1918 and 1919:

Today, masks look a little different, and the illness is different, but the goal of slowing the spread is the same.

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – APRIL 03: People wearing masks and gloves wait to checkout at Walmart on April 03, 2020 in Uniondale, New York. The World Health Organization declared coronavirus (COVID-19) a global pandemic on March 11th. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
A woman wearing a face mask stands on a beach in Vung Tau city, Vietnam, Sunday, July 26, 2020. Vietnam on Sunday reimposed restrictions in one of its most popular beach destinations after a second person tested positive for the virus, the first locally transmitted cases in the country in over three months. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
(Nexstar DC)
A firefighter wears a face mask with the colors of the French flag, prior to the Bastille Day parade Tuesday, July 14, 2020 on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris. France are honoring nurses, ambulance drivers, supermarket cashiers and others on its biggest national holiday Tuesday. Bastille Day’s usual grandiose military parade in Paris is being redesigned this year to celebrate heroes of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)
Students wearing face masks to protect against the new coronavirus have their documents checked by security officers before the first day of China’s national college entrance examinations, known as the gaokao, in Beijing, Tuesday, July 7, 2020. China’s college entrance exams began in Beijing on Tuesday after being delayed by a month due to the coronavirus outbreak. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Women wearing face masks to protect against the spread of coronavirus, walk in the city centre, in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, June 24, 2020. Turkish authorities have made the wearing of masks mandatory in three major cities to curb the spread of COVID-19 following an uptick in confirmed cases since the reopening of many businesses.(AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)
Financial union members wearing face masks to help protect against the spread of the new coronavirus attend a rally against government’s financial policy in front of the Financial Supervisory Service in Seoul, Monday, June 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A man wearing a face mask to protect against the new coronavirus, holds a young girl on his shoulders, in Ankara, Turkey, Sunday, June 14, 2020. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has revealed Tuesday new plans to ease restrictions in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus, including the July 1 reopening of theaters, cinemas and other entertainment centers. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)
FILE – In this Friday, March 20, 2020 file photo, passengers wearing face masks travel on a Piccadilly Line underground train in London. The World Health Organization on Friday June 5, 2020, broadened its recommendations for the use of masks during the coronavirus pandemic and is now advising that in areas where the virus is spreading, people should wear fabric masks when social distancing is not possible, such as on public transport and in shops. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)