A Temporal and Spatial Analysis of the COVID-19 Epidemic in China

The COVID-19 epidemic, which broke out in the city of Wuhan, Province of Hubei, China in late 2019, was finally over in 2023, after almost four years. The objective of this study is to summarise the history of the evolution of this epidemic in China, over both time and space, with the focus on the cumulative population infection rates, the cumulative population death rates (adjusted for possible “excess deaths” as necessary), and the cumulative mortality rates of those infected. Based on these data, four distinct phases of the COVID-19 epidemic may be identified in China: the Beginning Phase, the Controlled Phase, the Explosive Phase, and the “Living with the Virus” Phase. The strategies, policies and measures used in China to control the epidemic are also examined. Overall, the COVID-19 epidemic must be considered to have been reasonably well managed in China, with its national cumulative population infection rate and population death rate among the lowest in the world, even after adjustment for “excess deaths”.