COVID-19 measures helping to reduce other diseasesBy Wu Liang-yi and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerCOVID-19 pandemic response measures, including border restrictions and mandatory mask usage, have contributed to a decrease in the number of infectious diseases over the past year, Ministry of Health and Welfare statistics showed. Aside from keeping COVID-19 and influenza cases low, the measures also resulted in no measles and rubella infections, as well as a large drop in cases of pertussis (commonly known as whooping cough), the data showed. Statistics showed only five cases of pertussis last year, compared with 32 the year before. The drop in measles and rubella cases was likely due to a sharp decline in border traffic, he said. Tuberculosis cases have also been declining annually, dropping from more than 13,000 cases in 2010 to nearly half that, with 7,823 cases last year, he said.

Source: Taipei Times October 30, 2021 21:59 UTC