Table 1.
Explanatory and response variables of the study
| Variable name | Description | Min | Max | Median | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Explanatory variables | |||||
| (a) Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics | |||||
| prop_over65 | Elderly rate, i.e., proportion of people aged over 65 years | 0.02 | 0.32 | 0.16 | Hong Kong 2016 Population By-census [21] |
| gender_ratio | No. of males per 100 females, excluding foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) | 58.49 | 329.17 | 93.14 | |
| prop_preprim_edu | Proportion of population with no/pre-primary education | 0.01 | 0.27 | 0.10 | |
| prop_higher_edu | Higher-education rate, i.e., proportion of population with post-secondary education | 0.06 | 0.65 | 0.20 | |
| med_income | Median monthly income from main employment, excluding FDHs (HK$) | 7,730 | 68,000 | 16,250 | |
| med_area_home | Median floor area of accommodation per person (m2) | 4.50 | 56.84 | 16.90 | |
| ave_household_size | Average domestic household size (person) | 1.4 | 4.7 | 2.9 | |
| prop_household_3gen | Proportion of three-generation households (with couple, at least one of their parents, and their unmarried children) | 0.00 | 0.83 | 0.03 | |
| (b) Density and connectivity characteristics | |||||
| den_population | Population density (person/Km2) | 25.81 | 168,667 | 18,402 | Hong Kong 2016 Population By-census |
| den_bldg | Building density (Km2/Km2) | 0.00 | 0.84 | 0.17 | Hong Kong 1:5000 Digital Topographic Map [22] |
| floor_area_pp | Average floor area per person (m2) | 20.58 | 5,595.59 | 63.01 | Hong Kong 1:1000 Digital Topographic Map [22] |
| den_road | Road density (Km/Km2) | 0.58 | 40.72 | 10.78 | Hong Kong 1:1000 Geo-Reference Database [22] |
| den_public_trans | Density of public transport stations (station/Km2) | 0.00 | 271.81 | 16.43 | Hong Kong Transport Department [23] |
| (c) Land use characteristics: proportion of land use out of TPU area, except for the land use mix index | |||||
| prop_private_resid | Private residential | 0.00 | 0.53 | 0.05 | Hong Kong Planning Department [24] |
| prop_public resid | Public residential | 0.00 | 0.61 | 0.001 | |
| prop_rural_set | Rural settlement | 0.00 | 0.37 | 0.004 | |
| prop_business | Commercial/business and office | 0.00 | 0.40 | 0.004 | |
| prop_industrial | Industrial land | 0.00 | 0.44 | 0.001 | |
| prop_gov_insti_faci | Government, institutional and community facilities | 0.00 | 0.67 | 0.04 | |
| prop_open_recreation | Open space and recreation | 0.00 | 0.40 | 0.03 | |
| prop_transport | Roads and transport facilities | 0.00 | 0.52 | 0.12 | |
| prop_utilities | Utilities | 0.00 | 0.21 | 0.01 | |
| prop_vacant _construt | Vacant land/construction in progress | 0.00 | 0.60 | 0.01 | |
| prop_agricultural | Agricultural land | 0.00 | 0.60 | 0.004 | |
| prop_woodland | Woodland | 0.00 | 0.67 | 0.11 | |
| prop_shrubland | Shrubland | 0.00 | 0.45 | 0.07 | |
| prop_grassland | Grassland | 0.00 | 0.50 | 0.02 | |
| LU_entropy | Entropy-based land use mix index | 0.27 | 0.80 | 0.56 | |
| (d) Density and per-capita accessibility of POIs | |||||
| POI_den_sports | Density, recreation/sports (POIs/Km2) | 1.11 | 12,222 | 160.27 | Hong Kong 1:5000 Digital Topographic Map |
| POI_den_edu | Density, school/college (POIs/Km2) | 0.40 | 5424 | 96.41 | |
| POI_den_telecom_elec | Density, telecommunication/electric supply (POIs/Km2) | 0.00 | 14,343 | 113.46 | |
| POI_den_transport | Density, transport (POIs/Km2) | 2.95 | 11,921 | 267.41 | |
| POI_den_mall_mkt | Density, commercial center/market (POIs/Km2) | 0.19 | 2,942 | 49.36 | |
| POI_pp_sports | Per-capita accessibility, recreation/sports (POIs/person) | 0.62 | 431.71 | 16.41 | |
| POI_pp_edu | Per-capita accessibility, school/college (POIs/person) | 0.36 | 281.06 | 9.32 | |
| POI_pp_telecom_elec | Per-capita accessibility, telecommunication/ electric supply (POIs/person) | 0.01 | 743.25 | 11.44 | |
| POI_pp_transport | Per-capita accessibility, transport (POIs/person) | 0.91 | 637.60 | 26.85 | |
| POI_pp_mall_mkt | Per-capita accessibility, commercial center/market (POIs/person) | 0.16 | 152.46 | 5.12 | |
| (e) Response variables | |||||
| rate_local12 | Local confirmed case rate, wave 1&2: by May 31st, 2020 (‰ out of total population)a | 0.00 | 1.69 | 0.02 | Hong Kong Information Services Department [16] |
| rate_imported12 | Imported confirmed case rate, wave 1&2: by May 31st, 2020 (‰) | 0.00 | 1.39 | 0.04 | |
| rate_local3 | Local confirmed case rate, wave 3: Jun 1st –Oct 31st, 2020 (‰) | 0.00 | 4.72 | 0.29 | |
| rate_local4 | Local confirmed case rate, wave 4: Nov1st, 2020 –Feb 18th, 2021 (‰) | 0.00 | 6.29 | 0.49 | |
| ave_waiting_period | Average waiting period of all local cases (days) | 0.00 | 12.5 | 4.63 | |
| med_waiting_period | Median waiting period of all local cases (days) | 0.00 | 12.6 | 4.00 | |
aLocal/imported cases included cases that were epidemiologically linked with local/imported cases. The rates did not count the cases confirmed in hotels/ports of entry