Is the epidemic spread related to GDP? Visualizing the distribution of COVID-19 in Chinese Mainland

Zhang, Yi; Tian, Hanwen; Zhang, Yinglong; Geography, Yiping Chen College of; Science, Environmental; University, Northwest Normal; China,; Planning, Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Communications; Co., DesignResearch; Ltd.,; Environment, Institute of Earth; Sciences, Chinese Academy of

In December 2019, COVID-19 were detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. SARS-CoV-2 rapidly spread to the whole Chinese mainland with the people during the Chinese Spring Festival Travel Rush. As of 19 February 2020, 74576 confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been reported in Chinese Mainland. What kind of cities have more confirmed cases, and is there any relationship between GDP and confirmed cases? In this study, we explored the relationship between the confirmed cases of COVID-19 and GDP at the prefectural-level, found a positive correlation between them. This finding warns high GDP areas should pay more prevention and control efforts when an epidemic outbreak, as they have greater risks than other areas nearby.