SPATIAL VARIATION OF COVID-19 IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA

Abstract

COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China in December 2019 became a pandemic that found its way into
Nigeria on the 27th of February, 2020. Since then, it has rapidly spread to all States in the country with
growing diffusion rates., a continuous evaluation of the spread of the virus is therefore imperative for
proper planning and policy making. This study examined the spatial variations in the spread of
COVID-19 confirmed cases, deaths, recoveries and active cases in Southwestern Nigeria between 27th
February and 27th July, 2020. Secondary data were used for the study. Archival data were obtained
from the website of the Nigeria Centre for Diseases Control (NCDC). These include epidemiological
datasets for the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, active cases, recoveries and deaths between
the study period. Population statistics for the study area were also extracted from the official website
of the National Population Commission (NPC), National Bureau of Statistics as well as the United
Nations population projection. Results showed steady increase in the number of cases in all States in
the region from 1 case on the 27th of February to 20,243 on the 27th of July. At state level, all except
Ondo State, recorded increasing number of confirmed cases, recoveries, deaths and active cases. The
study therefore concluded that there is an increasing trend as shown in the number of COVID-19 cases
over the six months period across all the Southwestern States.