A social network analysis of the spread of COVID-19 in South Korea and policy implications

Abstract This study estimates the COVID-19 infection network from actual data and draws on implications for policy and research. Using contact tracing information of 3283 confirmed patients in Seoul metropolitan areas from January 20, 2020 to July 19, 2020, this study created an infection network an...

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Main Authors: Wonkwang Jo, Dukjin Chang, Myoungsoon You, Ghi-Hoon Ghim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2021-04-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-87837-0
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author Wonkwang Jo
Dukjin Chang
Myoungsoon You
Ghi-Hoon Ghim
author_facet Wonkwang Jo
Dukjin Chang
Myoungsoon You
Ghi-Hoon Ghim
author_sort Wonkwang Jo
collection DOAJ
description Abstract This study estimates the COVID-19 infection network from actual data and draws on implications for policy and research. Using contact tracing information of 3283 confirmed patients in Seoul metropolitan areas from January 20, 2020 to July 19, 2020, this study created an infection network and analyzed its structural characteristics. The main results are as follows: (i) out-degrees follow an extremely positively skewed distribution; (ii) removing the top nodes on the out-degree significantly decreases the size of the infection network, and (iii) the indicators that express the infectious power of the network change according to governmental measures. Efforts to collect network data and analyze network structures are urgently required for the efficiency of governmental responses to COVID-19. Implications for better use of a metric such as R0 to estimate infection spread are also discussed.
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spelling doaj.art-f3cc9426253e42d2bdbe60d8b31ebac82022-12-21T21:24:18ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222021-04-0111111010.1038/s41598-021-87837-0A social network analysis of the spread of COVID-19 in South Korea and policy implicationsWonkwang Jo0Dukjin Chang1Myoungsoon You2Ghi-Hoon Ghim3Department of Public Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National UniversityDepartment of Sociology, Seoul National UniversityDepartment of Public Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National UniversityDepartment of Sociology, Seoul National UniversityAbstract This study estimates the COVID-19 infection network from actual data and draws on implications for policy and research. Using contact tracing information of 3283 confirmed patients in Seoul metropolitan areas from January 20, 2020 to July 19, 2020, this study created an infection network and analyzed its structural characteristics. The main results are as follows: (i) out-degrees follow an extremely positively skewed distribution; (ii) removing the top nodes on the out-degree significantly decreases the size of the infection network, and (iii) the indicators that express the infectious power of the network change according to governmental measures. Efforts to collect network data and analyze network structures are urgently required for the efficiency of governmental responses to COVID-19. Implications for better use of a metric such as R0 to estimate infection spread are also discussed.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-87837-0
spellingShingle Wonkwang Jo
Dukjin Chang
Myoungsoon You
Ghi-Hoon Ghim
A social network analysis of the spread of COVID-19 in South Korea and policy implications
Scientific Reports
title A social network analysis of the spread of COVID-19 in South Korea and policy implications
title_full A social network analysis of the spread of COVID-19 in South Korea and policy implications
title_fullStr A social network analysis of the spread of COVID-19 in South Korea and policy implications
title_full_unstemmed A social network analysis of the spread of COVID-19 in South Korea and policy implications
title_short A social network analysis of the spread of COVID-19 in South Korea and policy implications
title_sort social network analysis of the spread of covid 19 in south korea and policy implications
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-87837-0
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