Epidemiological Features of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a Province Outside of Wuhan

Background: A pneumonia associated with 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV, subsequently named SARS-CoV2) emerged in Wuhan, China from December, 2019. Wuhan has been closed since January 23, 2020, and other regions have taken strict control measures. We aimed to describe the epidemiological characteristics of 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in a province outside of Wuhan.Methods: We prospectively included all 245 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Shaanxi province from Jan 23 to Feb 22, 2020. Cases were confirmed by real-time RT-PCR and were analyzed for epidemiological. Data were obtained from Health Commission of Shaanxi Province.Findings: 1. Among the 245 patients, 132 (53.9%) were males and 113 (46.1%) were females. The average age was 46.15±16.43 years, ranging from 3 to 89 years. 2. For the clinical type, 84.90% (208/245) patients were moderate type, and only 0.41% (1/245) was asymptomatic. 3. Of the 245 patients, 116 (47.35%) were imported case, 114 (46.53%) were non-imported case, and 15 (6.12%) were unknow exposure. 4. 48.57% (119/245) cases were family cluster, involving 42 families. The most common patterns of COVID-19 family cluster was between husband and wife or between parents and children.Interpretation: Of the patients we observed, all the population was susceptible to COVID-19. Most cases were moderate type, and only 0.41% was asymptomatic. The COVID-19 infection was of family clustering onset outside of Wuhan, which indicates the suspected or mild patients may have the risk of spreading disease if they stay at home.Funding Statement: This study was funded by the Key R & D plan of Shaanxi Province (number 2020ZDXM-SF-004).Declaration of Interests: All authors declare no competing interests.Ethics Approval Statement: This study belongs to the data analysis of information related to outbreak treatment, which was reviewed and approved by the ethics review committee of Shaanxi Health Commission, with a waiver of informed consent.