Discovering spatiotemporal patterns of COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea

Abstract

A novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 emerged in December 2019, and it took only a few months for WHO to declare COVID-19 as a pandemic in March 2020. It is very challenging to discover complex spatial–temporal transmission mechanisms. However, it is crucial to capture essential features of regional-temporal patterns of COVID-19 to implement prompt and effective prevention or mitigation interventions. In this work, we develop a novel framework of compatible window-wise dynamic mode decomposition (CwDMD) for nonlinear infectious disease dynamics. The compatible window is a selected representative subdomain of time series data, in which compatibility between spatial and temporal resolutions is established so that DMD can provide meaningful data analysis. A total of four compatible windows have been selected from COVID-19 time-series data from January 20, 2020, to May 10, 2021, in South Korea. The spatiotemporal patterns of these four windows are then analyzed. Several hot and cold spots were identified, their spatial–temporal relationships, and some hidden regional patterns were discovered. Our analysis reveals that the first wave was contained in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk areas, but it spread rapidly to the whole of South Korea after the second wave. Later on, the spatial distribution is seen to become more homogeneous after the third wave. Our analysis also identifies that some patterns are not related to regional relevance. These findings have then been analyzed and associated with the inter-regional and local characteristics of South Korea. Thus, the present study is expected to provide public health officials helpful insights for future regional-temporal specific mitigation plans.

Fluvoxamine Treatment of Patients with Symptomatic COVID-19 in a Community Treatment Center: A Preliminary Result of Randomized Controlled Trial

“…In Korea, after the first wave focused on Daegu and Gyeongbuk area between January 2020 and April 2020 with maximum daily incidence of 800, local outbreaks moved to Seoul and Gyeonggi region, and the daily incidence grew rapidly to 1,200, especially during the winter season from November 2020 [ 13 14 ]. Therefore, community treatment centers (CTC) were set up in each region to monitor and provide supportive care and isolation for patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 who did not require hospitalization and had minor or no underlying medical conditions [ 15 16 ].…”

Evolution of Responses to COVID-19 and Epidemiological Characteristics in South Korea

“…Note that Seoul is the most densely populated and Gyeonggi is the most populous region in South Korea (see Figure S1 ). Due to the Shincheonji church mass infection, Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions experienced the severest contagion in P1 but quickly had it under control in P2 as observed in [ 36 ]. We did not expect to see the pattern in P6 where the shares of unlinked and linked cases alternate with a large margin in most regions.…”

Treatment delay and outcomes of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction treated by primary percutaneous coronary intervention during the COVID-19 era in South Korea

“…In South Korea, there were three major waves of the COVID-19 pandemic: (1) the first wave (January 2020 to April 2020); (2) the second wave (July 2020 to October 2020); and (3) the third wave (November 2020 to February 2021) [ 32 ]. Except for November 2020, the decline in the number of patients with STEMI in these three outbreak periods was not remarkable.…”

“…For example, because there is no detailed information on delayed EMS response, a logical explanation of the EMS-based factors contributing to the pre-hospital delay could only depend on the reviews of previously published studies. Third, the present study did not provide any information on the association with the three big waves in South Korea [ 32 – 34 ], although it is a kind of epidemiological investigation and trend analysis of patients of STEMI in these periods. In addition to the advent of the alpha, beta, and delta SARS-CoV-2 variants, Omicron, a new SARS-CoV-2 variant, was reported in South Africa on November 25, 2021 [ 35 , 36 ].…”