{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.031945788964181994, 'fraction_numerical': 0.023233301064859633, 'mean_word_length': 5.118343195266272, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Effective Containment Explains the Velocity of COVID-19 Spread

Understanding the mechanisms underlying the global spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) is key to addressing the pandemic. Herein, we use a global velocity model to examine the effectiveness of containment measures on the rate of COVID-19 spread at spatial scales. Velocity models were parameterised to locate COVID-19 analogues within a minimum exposure distance. We found that COVID-19 spread 193 analogue locations at 3.03km per day (range: .5 – 7.81km per day). We applied conventional time-series methods to study the effectiveness of shelter-in-place virus containment strategy as represented by device exposure and state-wise emergency declaration metrics, on velocity of virus spread. The best model comprised of high device exposure and state-wise emergency rank, explaining 44% of the variation in velocity of COVID-19. Our findings elucidate the importance of governments’ response time and individual-level compliance in managing pathogens during epidemics.