Epidemiological Features of the Novel Coronavirus Disease in the Lipetsk Region in 2020

Abstract

Introduction: Due to a high incidence of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Russian Federation in 2020, identification of the regional features of the disease spread has become relevant for understanding of the further development of the development of the epidemic process, organizing and implementing comprehensive preventive measures. Objective. To study regional features of the COVID-19 epidemic process in the Lipetsk Region. Materials and methods. We used data from the Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology in the Lipetsk Region, notifications by healthcare facilities, summary reports on COVID-19 cases in the regions (Form 1076), and the website (“stopcoronavirus.rf”). Results. Incidence rates indicated a slow development of the epidemic with a growth rate of 0.68 %. Two rises were registered during the year 2020. Female COVID-19 cases prevailed (154.7 0/000 [95 % CI: 150.95–157.10]). The main risk groups included people aged 50–64 years (212.2 0/000 [95 % CI: 206.4–217.7]), 30–49 years (167.9 0/000 [95 % CI: 163.7–172.4]), and 65 years and older (126.2 0/000 [95 % CI: 121.1–131.0]). Among professional groups, high incidence rates were observed among healthcare workers (547.8 0/000 [95 % CI: 520.83–576.52]) and employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (257.1 0/000 [95 % CI = 214.65–305.41]). Most people got infected in their home (42.3 ± 0.4 %). We established that moderate (39.8 ± 0.4 %) and mild (31.3 ± 0.4 %) forms of the disease with symptoms similar to those of upper respiratory tract infections (47.4 ± 0.4 %) prevailed. The mortality rate did not exceed the national average (1.6 % and 1.8 %, respectively). In general, timely and consistent implementation of comprehensive measures helped influence the epidemiological situation in the region: the epidemic process was characterized by a moderate intensity of morbidity and mortality and had no explosive nature that could have destroyed the infrastructure of the region. At the same time, further monitoring and analysis of the COVID-19 situation in the Lipetsk Region is important, especially in view of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign and subsequent formation of herd immunity.

Genomic and Epidemiological Features of COVID-19 in the Novosibirsk Region during the Beginning of the Pandemic

“…According to our data, the importations of SARS-CoV-2 into Novosibirsk were not from China, but from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yakutia (the northern region of Russia), as well as from Thailand and Spain. Similar results have been obtained for other Russian regions [10,11,[19][20][21][22].…”

“…The incidence structure in the first wave was also similar in Novosibirsk, Moscow [21], and Lipetsk [22]. The largest number of cases corresponded to the largest group, however, when normalized by the number of tests, it is revealed that the incidence in the group of 65 years and older exceeded the incidence rate in the other population groups.…”

“…According to world data [23], the first epidemic wave did not proceed in the same way in the different countries and cities [1,2,8,10,13,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. The number of cases in China, Korea, Germany, and Russia was highest in the age group between 20 and 59 years and smallest in children (aged 0-9 years).…”

The Development of the SARS-CoV-2 Epidemic in Different Regions of Siberia in the 2020–2022 Period

“…The development of the pandemic in Russia is described for several regions, but it is hard to compare them since all articles cover different epidemiological and temporal aspects of the pandemic. The epidemiologic features of COVID-19 were described for Yakutia [ 7 ], the Lipetsk region [ 8 ] and the northwest of Russia [ 9 ]. The spread of the infection is influenced by important parameters of the region such as the age structure, the population density and size, transport links with other regions and countries, cultural characteristics, access to medical care and environmental factors [ 10 , 11 , 12 ].…”