Abstract
ObjectivesIn this data collation study, we aimed to provide a comprehensive database describing the epidemic trends and responses during the first wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) throughout the main provinces in China. MethodsFrom mid-January to March 2020, we extracted publicly available data regarding the spread and control of COVID-19 from 31 provincial health authorities and major media outlets in mainland China. Based on these data, we conducted descriptive analyses of the epidemic in the six most-affected provinces. ResultsSchool closures, travel restrictions, community-level lockdown, and contact tracing were introduced concurrently around late January but subsequent epidemic trends differed among provinces. Compared with Hubei, the other five most-affected provinces reported a lower crude case fatality ratio and proportion of critical and severe hospitalised cases. From March 2020, as the local transmission of COVID-19 declined, switching the focus of measures to the testing and quarantine of inbound travellers may have helped to sustain the control of the epidemic. ConclusionsAggregated indicators of case notifications and severity distributions are essential for monitoring an epidemic. A publicly available database containing these indicators and information regarding control measures is a useful resource for further research and policy planning in response to the COVID-19 epidemic.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak was first reported in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China in late December 2019 (Xinhua, 2020b)
On 26 January 2020, The State Council of The People's Republic of China (2020a) announced the extension of the school winter vacation with the aim of COVID-19 control, where the schools had been closed since 24 January or earlier for the Chinese New Year
Due to the interruption of education, the National College Entrance Examination in China was postponed by one month until July 2020 (Hubei Province COVID-19 Prevention and Control Centre, 2020a)
Summary
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak was first reported in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China in late December 2019 (Xinhua, 2020b). From late January 2020, many provinces in China began to report confirmed COVID-19 cases. Travel restrictions, contact tracing, environmental disinfection, and other strategies were implemented to control the epidemic. From late February 2020, other countries reported rising numbers of infections, whereas a declining epidemic trend was observed in China. Considering the global spread of the pathogen, the World Health Organization (2020) declared COVID19 a pandemic on 11 March 2020. An increase was observed in the number of confirmed cases after June 2020, the overall size of the epidemic remained small in China
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