Abstract: Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics and factors influencing clinical severity of COVID-19 confirmed cases in Jingzhou City, with a view to providing evidence for epidemic prevention and treatment. Methods The basic data of COVID-19 confirmed cases in Jingzhou City from January 1 to March 10, 2020 were collected through the Chinese Disease Control and Prevention Information Management System. Clinical data and previous exposure history of risk factors were obtained through field epidemiological investigation, and case epidemiology and clinical severity were descriptive analyzed. Results A total of 1 365 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported in Jingzhou City, the reported incidence rate was 24.19/100 000, and the infection presents a single-peak outbreak pattern. Confirmed cases of cluster infections accounted for 31.06% of the total, 93.94% of the clustered outbreaks occurred in households. The sex ratio of male to female was 1.12∶1. The age of the COVID-19 confirmed cases was mainly 30-59 years old, accounting for 62.93%. In the regional distribution, the highest incidence rate was Honghu City which is nearest to Wuhan. Fourteen days before onset, 79.56% had traveled to Wuhan or contact with people who had returned from Wuhan, and 27.25% had contact with the confirmed cases or asymptomatic infected people. Fever and cough were found in 75.60% and 56.26% of the cases. The cases who were older, the longer the time from onset to admission, and the higher the proportion of patients with past disease history, were more severe the clinical classification （P<0.01）. Conclusion In the control and prevention of COVID-19 epidemic, early detection and individual isolation should be implemented to prevent the family clustering epidemic. When necessary, the movement of people in the epidemic area should be restricted to control the spread of large areas. In case treatment, early detection is necessary to shorten the time from the onset to the admission of the infected person, focus on the elderly and the infected cases with past history, so as to reduce the proportion of severe and critical diseases cases.

Key words: SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, Epidemiological characteristics, Clinical severity