Abstract
BackgroundZhejiang Province is one of the five provinces in China that had the highest incidence of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Zhejiang, ranked fourth highest in COVID-19 incidence, is located in the Yangtze River Delta region of southeast China. This study was undertaken to identify the space-time characteristics of COVID-19 in Zhejiang.MethodsData on COVID-19 cases in Zhejiang Province from January to July 2020 were obtained from this network system. Individual information on cases and deaths was imported, and surveillance information, including demographic characteristics and geographic and temporal distributions, was computed by the system. The Knox test was used to identify possible space-time interactions to test whether cases that are close in distance were also close in time. Network analysis was performed to determine the relationship among the cases in a transmission community and to try to identify the key nodes.ResultsIn total, 1475 COVID-19 cases and 1 fatal case were reported from January to July 2020 in Zhejiang Province, China. Most of the cases occurred before February 15th, which accounted for 90.10%. The imported cases increased and became the main risk in Zhejiang Province after February 2020. The risk areas showed strong heterogeneity according to the Knox test. The areas at short distances within 1 kilometer and at brief periods within 5 days presented relatively high risk. The numbers of subcommunities for the four clusters were 12, 9, 6 and 4. There was obvious heterogeneity in the modularity of subcommunities. The maximum values of the node centrality for the four clusters were 2.9474, 4.3706, 4.1080 and 2.7500.ConclusionsCOVID-19 was brought under control over a short period in Zhejiang Province. Imported infections from outside of mainland China then became a new challenge. The effects of spatiotemporal interaction exhibited interval heterogeneity. The characteristics of transmission showed short range and short term risks. The importance to the cluster of each case was detected, and the key patients were identified. It is suggested that we should focus on key patients in complex conditions and in situations with limited control resources.
Highlights
In December 2019, a cluster of cases of pneumonia caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China [1, 2]
Zhejiang Province is one of the five provinces in China that had the highest incidence of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
1475 COVID-19 cases and 1 fatal case were reported from January to July 2020 in Zhejiang Province, China
Summary
In December 2019, a cluster of cases of pneumonia caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China [1, 2]. Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spread into many counties [3]. The original host of SARS-CoV-2 may be bats, which spread the virus to humans through some intermediate animal hosts and caused an epidemic of COVID-19 [6]. The virus can spread in poorly ventilated and/or crowded indoor settings, where people tend to spend longer periods of time. This is because aerosols remain suspended in the air or travel farther than 1 metre [9]. Zhejiang Province is one of the five provinces in China that had the highest incidence of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This study was undertaken to identify the space-time characteristics of COVID-19 in Zhejiang
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
