A spatial analysis of COVID-19 reported cases in the Gauteng province,
South Africa: Identifying wards to be targeted early in future infectious
diseases outbreak
The COVID-19 pandemic caused major disruptions and contributed to the loss of
livelihoods and income. The pandemic also provided public health and health
systems policy shifts towards better promotion and protection in responding to
such disasters and emergencies. Due to differing effects of socio-economic
infectious disease vulnerabilities and pre-pandemic levels of preparedness for
health emergencies, health system strengthening requires targeted and ununiform
implementation. We employ spatial statistical methods on the COVID-19 confirmed
cases in identifying wards that could be targeted for strengthening health
security in the Gauteng Province, South Africa. In this way, the identified
high-risk wards would be more effective and prepared to respond to future
pandemics and emergencies.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures and 9 table