The new coronavirus known as COVID-19 is rapidly spreading since December 2019. Without any vaccination or medicine, the means of controlling it are limited to quarantine and social distancing. Here we study the spatio-temporal propagation of the  COVID-19 virus in China and compare it to other global locations. Our results suggest that the disease propagation is highly related to population migration from Hubei resembling a L\'{e human mobility and thus could be controlled by efficient quarantines. Since quarantine is usually applied on a city level , more insight  can be obtained in analyzing the epidemic in cities. Our results suggest that the disease spread in a city in China is characterized by  two-stages process. At early times, at order of few days, the infection rate in the city is close to  constant probably due to the lack of means to detect infected individuals before infection signs are observedand at later times it decays approximately exponentially due to quarantines. These two stages can explain the significant differences between the propagation in China and in other world-wide locations. While most cities in China control the disease which resulted in the decaying stage, in other world-wide countries the situation is still becoming worse probably due to less social interactions control and overloaded health systems which reflects in the death and recovery rates .
The new coronavirus known as COVID-19 is spread world-wide since December 2019. Without any vaccination or medicine, the means of controlling it are limited to quarantine and social distancing. Here we study the spatio-temporal propagation of the first wave of the COVID-19 virus in China and compare it to other global locations. We provide a comprehensive picture of the spatial propagation from Hubei to other provinces in China in terms of distance, population size, and human mobility and their scaling relations. Since strict quarantine has been usually applied between cities , more insight about the temporal evolution of the disease can be obtained by analyzing the epidemic within cities, especially the time evolution of the infection, death, and recovery rates which affected by policies. We study and compare the infection rate in different cities in China and provinces in Italy and find that the disease spread is characterized by a two-stages process. At early times, at order of few days, the infection rate is close to a constant probably due to the lack of means to detect infected individuals before infection symptoms are observed. Then at later times it decays approximately exponentially due to quarantines. The time evolution of the death and recovery rates also distinguish between these two stages and reflect the health system situation which could be overloaded .
R
rapidly spreading
spread world-wide
A
first wave of the
R
Our results suggest that the disease propagation is highly related to population migration from Hubei resembling a L\'{e
We provide a comprehensive picture of the spatial propagation from Hubei to other provinces in China in terms of distance, population size, and
R
thus could be controlled by efficient quarantines. Since quarantine is usually applied on a city level
their scaling relations. Since strict quarantine has been usually applied between cities
A
about the temporal evolution of the disease
R
in
by
R
in cities. Our results suggest that the disease spread in a city in China
within cities, especially the time evolution of the infection, death, and recovery rates which affected by policies. We study and compare the infection rate in different cities in China and provinces in Italy and find that the disease spread
A
a
D
in the city
A
a
R
signs are observedand
symptoms are observed. Then
R
These two stages can explain the significant differences between the propagation in China and in other world-wide locations. While most cities in China control the disease which resulted in the decaying stage, in other world-wide countries the situation is still becoming worse probably due to less social interactions control and overloaded health systems which reflects in the death and recovery rates
The time evolution of the death and recovery rates also distinguish between these two stages and reflect the health system situation which could be overloaded