COVID-19 Infections and Deaths between Rural and Urban Provinces of Zimbabwe, 2020: A Spatial Variations Analysis

Abstract

Zimbabwe continues to record new COVID-19 cases as is the case in other countries. Although the Ministry of Health in Zimbabwe continues to publish daily situation reports (SitRep), and regular surveillance updates, no review of existing data has been done to establish the regional trends of the disease over time. This desk review study seeks to analyze the trends (province by province) of the COVID-19 in Zimbabwe for year 2020 in order to establish if spatial variations in infection rates and deaths exist. Ultimately, the aim is to come up with appropriate context-specific prevention and control measures. The study also seeks to establish whether or not there is a difference in COVID-19 infection rates and deaths between urban and rural provinces of Zimbabwe. A historical research design that made use of available secondary data on COVID-19 in Zimbabwe was used. COVID-19 statistics for year 2020 as provided by the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Care were accessed from the website and reviewed. A hypothesis test to determine if there was a difference in COVID-19 attack rates between urban and rural provinces of Zimbabwe was also done. An independent samples t-test using Microsoft excel was done on cumulative COVID-19 cases data for the entire year 2020. The study revealed that spatial variations in COVID-19 infections and deaths between urban and rural provinces of Zimbabwe existed. Urban provinces recorded more COVID-19 cases in 2020 compared to rural provinces. Keywords: COVID-19, Infection rate, Psychological distress, Spatial, Variations, Vaccine hesitancy.