Health geography

Data science

Geographic information system

Health policy

Environmental resource management

Infectious disease (medical specialty)

Disease

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Pandemic

Geography

Geospatial analysis

Computer science

Cartography

Nursing

Public health

Pathology

Regional science

Environmental science

Environmental planning

International health

Medicine

The Science of The Total Environment

This study entailed a review of 63 scientific articles on geospatial and spatial-statistical analysis of the geographical dimension of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The diversity of themes identified in this paper can be grouped into the following categories of disease mapping: spatiotemporal analysis, health and social geography, environmental variables, data mining, and web-based mapping. Understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics of COVID-19 is essential for its mitigation, as it helps to clarify the extent and impact of the pandemic and can aid decision making, planning and community action. Health geography highlights the interaction of public health officials, affected actors and first responders to improve estimations of disease propagation and likelihoods of new outbreaks. Attempts at interdisciplinary correlation examine health policy interventions for the siting of health/sanitary services and controls, mapping/tracking of human movement, formulation of appropriate scientific and political responses and projection of spatial diffusion and temporal trends. This review concludes that, to fight COVID-19, it is important to face the challenges from an interdisciplinary perspective, with proactive planning, international solidarity and a global perspective. This review provides useful information and insight that can support future bibliographic queries, and also serves as a resource for understanding the evolution of tools used in the management of this major global pandemic of the 21 Century. It is hoped that its findings will inspire new reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic by readers.

Spatial analysis and GIS in the study of COVID-19. A review