This Comparison investigates a classical population model for the spread of infection diseases (SIR ordinary differential equations model by Kermack and McKendrick) and an inhomogeneous spatial approach using cellular automata. An identification of parameters based on an abstract time discrete conceptual model is presented. The tasks of this comparison include the validation and analysis of this identification, an investigation on the impact of different spatial dynamics in the cellular automaton modelling approach and simulation scenarios for confining epidemic outbreaks that involve state-dependent interventions.