Statistical properties of COVID-19 transmission intervals in Republic of Korea

TL;DR

This study analyzes COVID-19 transmission intervals in Korea, revealing demographic and regional variations that enhance understanding of epidemic dynamics in social networks.

Contribution

It provides detailed statistical analysis of transmission intervals considering demographic and geographic factors, offering new insights into epidemic spread mechanisms.

Findings

Transmission intervals are unaffected by sex.

Older and youngest age groups have larger transmission intervals.

Regional differences in transmission intervals are observed.

Abstract

A transmission interval for an infectious disease is important to understand epidemic processes in complex networks. The transmission interval is defined as a time interval between one person's infection and their infection to another person. To study statistical properties of transmission intervals, we analyze a COVID-19 dataset of confirmed cases in Republic of Korea that has been collected for two years since the confirmation of the first case on 19 January 2020. Utilizing demographic information of confirmed individuals, such as sex, age, residence location, and the nature of relation between infectors and infectees, we find that transmission intervals are rarely affected by sexes, but they tend to have larger values for the youngest and oldest age groups than other groups. We also find some metropolitan cities or provinces with relatively larger (smaller) transmission intervals than other locations. These empirical findings might help us to better understand dynamical mechanisms of epidemic processes in complex social systems.