The Plague

What the Black Death can teach us about Covid-19

Lessons from the bubonic plague's spread through Europe can offer a roadmap for our future.

by JoAnna Wendel
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
A man in historical masquerade costume of plague doctor in old grange castle near the mountains. Epi...
Shutterstock

Shutterstock

In pre-Covid-19 times, the word “pandemic” typically conjured up visions of the Black Death that raged through Europe in the 14th century, killing 30-60 percent of the country’s population.

Shutterstock

We also tend to think of that time as one isolated event — something that happened, and then ended.

Tap