Aug 03, 2020 17:30:00

The number of cases of influenza etc. decreased sharply due to the influence of new coronavirus spread prevention measures

Approximately 5 months after the WHO's pandemic certification of a new coronavirus infection (COVID-19), there is no sign of a steady increase in the number of people infected with COVID-19. On the other hand, it has been reported that the number of cases of other infectious diseases has decreased sharply, probably because of various measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 worldwide.

As COVID-19 rages around the globe, other infectious diseases shrink away | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/07/flu-and-other-infectious-diseases-numbers-are-down-as-covid-19-rages/

The 'social distance' strategy that has been adopted as a countermeasure against the new coronavirus has been shown to help control other infectious diseases from an early stage .

In Australia, it was reported early on that there were fewer cases of influenza than usual. Australia's influenza peaks in June-August, but it is likely to increase in January every year due to 'bringing in' by travelers from the Northern Hemisphere.

Australia sees huge decrease in flu cases due to coronavirus measures | New Scientist
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2242113-australia-sees-huge-decrease-in-flu-cases-due-to-coronavirus-measures/

As usual, the number of influenza infections reported in January 2020 was as high as 6962, which increased to 7161 in February, but decreased to 5884 in March. And in April it was said that the number had dropped to 229. Since there were 18,705 cases in the same period of the previous year, we can see how big the decrease is.

The sharp reduction in the number of infections is believed to be largely due to Australia's border closure on March 20, 2020. In addition, around the closing of the border, unnecessary and urgent gatherings with a large number of people (500 people or more) will be banned on March 16, and pubs, restaurants, gyms, movie theaters will be closed on March 23. It was. In addition, since children are causing the spread of influenza every year, it seems that the number of children going to school has decreased due to the remoteization of school lessons from the middle of March, which is also one of the causes of the decrease in the number of infections.

Australia's neighbor, New Zealand, issued a 'Victory Declaration' for the new coronavirus in June 2020. After that, new cases of infection have occurred again, but the number of influenza reported in New Zealand in July 2020 was 0.7% of the population, which is lower than the usual 3-4%.

Similarly, in South America and Argentina, the reported number of influenza from January to July 2020 is 64% of the usual year.

In China, where COVID-19 was first reported, in addition to influenza, the number of measles (measles) infections decreased by 70%, and the number of mumps infections decreased by 90%.

Seasonal flu reports hit record lows amid global social distancing-Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-influenza/seasonal-flu-reports-hit-record-lows-amid-global-social-distancing-idUSKCN24W0F8

Similar to the case of Australia, it is thought that COVID-19 measures such as social distance were successful for other infectious diseases.

According to Ars Technica, the number of people infected with COVID-19 is the second largest in the world, and the number of people infected with influenza is 40% lower than usual even in Brazil, which is trying to prevent it.