Fractal dimension based geographical clustering of COVID-19 time series data

Understanding the local dynamics of COVID-19 transmission calls for an approach that characterizes the incidence curve in a small geographical unit. Given that incidence curves exhibit considerable day-to-day variation, the fractal structure of the time series dynamics is investigated for the Flanders and Brussels Regions of Belgium. For each statistical sector, the smallest administrative geographical entity in Belgium, fractal dimensions of COVID-19 incidence rates, based on rolling time spans of 7, 14, and 21 days were estimated using four different estimators: box-count, Hall-Wood, variogr... Mehr ...

Verfasser: NATALIA, Yessika
FAES, Christel
NEYENS, Thomas
Chys, Pieter
Hammami, Naïma
MOLENBERGHS, Geert
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2023
Schlagwörter: Belgium / Fractals / COVID-19 / Time series / Fractal dimension
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-27369196
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : http://hdl.handle.net/1942/39915

Understanding the local dynamics of COVID-19 transmission calls for an approach that characterizes the incidence curve in a small geographical unit. Given that incidence curves exhibit considerable day-to-day variation, the fractal structure of the time series dynamics is investigated for the Flanders and Brussels Regions of Belgium. For each statistical sector, the smallest administrative geographical entity in Belgium, fractal dimensions of COVID-19 incidence rates, based on rolling time spans of 7, 14, and 21 days were estimated using four different estimators: box-count, Hall-Wood, variogram, and madogram. We found varying patterns of fractal dimensions across time and location. The fractal dimension is further summarized by its mean, variance, and autocorrelation over time. These summary statistics are then used to cluster regions with different incidence rate patterns using k-means clustering. Fractal dimension analysis of COVID-19 incidence thus offers important insight into the past, current, and arguably future evolution of an infectious disease outbreak.