The Smallpox Quarantine Lifted
After weeks of isolation and public panic, Tacoma and Seattle lift travel restrictions as smallpox cases in Victoria stabilize.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Great satisfaction is felt in Victoria at the news received this evening of the raising of quarantine on the Sound ports. Although Victoria has more cases of smallpox than ever before, most of the sufferers are convalescent and will be discharged in a few days. The quarantine restrictions were removed in Tacoma today, except for Sound vessels from British Columbia ports, which must show a clean bill of health. In Seattle, the board of health yesterday rescinded the order of quarantine against Victoria. Passengers from the north can arrive and leave at their pleasure, and they will neither have to exhibit vaccination scars nor submit to vaccination. There has not been a case of smallpox in Seattle since the ten isolated cases were removed to the pest house, and though the disease has not yet disappeared at Victoria, it is felt that the danger of contagion is at an end.
“The board of health yesterday rescinded the order of quarantine against Victoria. Passengers from the north can arrive and leave at their pleasure.”
The 1892 smallpox scare serves as a stark reminder of Seattle’s long history of balancing public health mandates with regional commerce. Much like during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, officials grappled with the economic fallout of border closures and the logistical nightmare of managing quarantine sites.
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