Quantifying The Significance of Distance to Temporal Dynamics of Covid-19 Cases in Nigeria Using a Geographic Information System

  • Ifeyinwa Sarah Obuekwe Nigerian Environmental Society, Nigeria and Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State, PMB. 1154, Nigeria http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0187-7731
  • Umar Saleh Anka Nigerian Environmental Society, Nigeria and Department of Geography, Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Bayero University, Kano State, Nigeria http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7984-0947
  • Sodiq Opeyemi Ibrahim Nigerian Environmental Society, Nigeria and Department of Geography, Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Bayero University, Kano State, Nigeria http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4635-8521
  • Usman Ahmad Adam Department of Geography, Sa’adatu Rimi College of Education, Kumbotso, Kano, Nigeria

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by a new strain of coronavirus that spreads primarily by close contact. Although Nigeria adopted lockdown measures, no defined strategies were used in setting the distance threshold for these lockdowns. Hence, understanding the drivers of COVID-19 is pivotal to an informed decision for containment measures in the absence of vaccines. Spatial and temporal analyses are crucial drivers to apprehending the pattern of diseases over space and time. Thus, this study aimed to quantify the significance of distance to the temporal dynamics of COVID-19 cases in Nigeria using the Geographic Information System. Incremental spatial autocorrelation was used to analyze datasets of each month in ArcGIS. March, April, May, and June exhibited patterns with no significant peaks, while July and August exhibited patterns with two statistically significant peaks. The first and second peaks of July were 301,338.39 and 365,947.83 meters, respectively, while August was 301,338.39 and 336,128.09 meters, respectively. Therefore, a significant difference in the clustering of COVID-19 over distances between July and August was established. This indicated that progression in the spread of the virus increased the virus's spatial coverage while the distance of risk of exposure decreased. This study's findings could be utilized to establish maximum movement restriction areas to contain the spread of COVID-19.


Keywords: Distance; Incremental spatial autocorrelation; Covid-19; Disease; Nigeria


Copyright (c) 2021 Geosfera Indonesia and Department of Geography Education, University of Jember


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Published
2021-04-25
How to Cite
OBUEKWE, Ifeyinwa Sarah et al. Quantifying The Significance of Distance to Temporal Dynamics of Covid-19 Cases in Nigeria Using a Geographic Information System. Geosfera Indonesia, [S.l.], v. 6, n. 1, p. 40-54, apr. 2021. ISSN 2614-8528. Available at: <https://jurnal.unej.ac.id/index.php/GEOSI/article/view/21405>. Date accessed: 29 mar. 2024. doi: https://doi.org/10.19184/geosi.v6i1.21405.
Section
Original Research Articles