SPATIO-TEMPORAL ANALYSIS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COVID-19 EPIDEMIC (PANDEMIC) IN POLAND: FIRST PHASE OF DEVELOPMENT

The purpose of this study is to present a description of the course of the COVID-19 epidemic in Poland in the space-time dimension in the period from March 15th to August 8th 2020. The result of the conducted research is a presentation of the regional differentiation of the course of the epidemic in Poland, the comparison of the intensity of SARS-CoV-2 infections in particular voivodeships, the determination of the degree of similarity in the course of the pandemic development process in individual regions (voivodeships) of the country, and also the indication of the factors which could be taken into account when attempting to explain the interregional differences in the course of the epidemic. The conducted research shows, among other things, that: (1) in terms of time, the development of the epidemic was generally monotonic, however the increase in new infections was rather cyclical, (2) in the spatial dimension, the development of the epidemic was rather random, although the greatest number of infections was characteristic of the most populated regions of the country, (3) the level of infections in Poland was mainly positively influenced by: population density, working in industry, people beyond retirement, age as well as a poorly developed material base of inpatient care.