Epidemiological Features of Covid-19 Epidemic in Hamadan Province, Finding of a Ten-Month Period

Background and Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of patients with Covid-19 in Hamadan Province.   Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, demographic and epidemiological data of all people who presented to hospitals in Hamadan Province from February 2019 to December 2020 were extracted using two checklists. Data were then analyzed using the Stata software.   Results: In this study, 9674 covid-19 positive patients were examined. According to results, 49.11% of the cases occurred in the elderly over 60 years. The rate of involvement was higher in females than males (51.57% vs. 48.43%). Moreover, 72.05% of the definitive patients lived in the city and 0.76% reported traveling to areas with a high prevalence of the disease two weeks before the onset of symptoms. The highest incidence of this disease per one hundred thousand population was in Malayer, Hamedan and Nahavand counties and the highest fetality was in Razan and Dargazin, Tuyserkan and Asadabad counties, respectively. The data of suspected, probable, and definite outpatients with Covid-19 presenting to medical centers were not evaluated in this study.   Conclusion: Due to the high death rate in the elderly, males, those with underlying diseases, and people living in rural areas, it is necessary to design and apply precautionary measures in these groups. Attention should be paid to these high-risk groups in the shortest possible time to reduce the burden of this disease on individuals as well as the health care system.