Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

April 20, 2020

Population movement, city closure in Wuhan and geographical expansion of the 2019-nCOV pneumonia infection in China in January 2020

Category:

Topic:

  • Using data on daily reported new cases and population movement during the month of January, Liu et al observe a significant positive association between population movement and the number of COVID-19 cases. Spatial distribution of cases indicate that some areas with large outflow (i.e. Henan and Hunan) might have been underestimated in disease spread. 
  • The authors highlight that the policy of city closure was effective in controlling the epidemic in China, which could have implications for cities in the U.S. with high burden of disease and a high level of outflow.  

Liu et al. (Apr 17, 2020). Population movement, city closure in Wuhan and geographical expansion of the 2019-nCOV pneumonia infection in China in January 2020. Clin Infect Dis. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa422