Summary statistics of the studied variables.

Since November 2019, most countries across the globe have suffered from the disastrous consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic which redefined every aspect of human life. Given the inevitable spread and transmission of the virus, it is critical to acknowledge the factors that catalyse transmission of the disease. This research investigates the relation of the external demographic parameters such as total population, population density and weighted population density on the spread of Covid-19 in Malaysia. Pearson correlation and simple linear regression were utilized to identify the relation between the population-related variables and the spread of Covid-19 in Malaysia using data from 15th March 2020 to 31st March 2021. As a result, a strong positive significant correlation between the total population and Covid-19 cases was found. However, a weak positive relationship was found between the density variable (population density and weighted population density) and the spread of Covid-19. Our findings suggest that the transmission of Covid-19 during lockdown (Movement Control Order, MCO) in Malaysia was more readily explained by the demographic variable population size, than population density or weighted population density. Thus, this study could be helpful in intervention planning and managing future virus outbreaks in Malaysia.自2019年11月起，全球多数国家均遭受了新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）大流行带来的灾难性后果，这场疫情重塑了人类生活的方方面面。鉴于该病毒不可避免的传播与扩散，明确推动疾病传播的相关因素至关重要。本研究以马来西亚为研究对象，探究总人口、人口密度、加权人口密度等外部人口统计参数与新冠疫情传播之间的关联；研究采用2020年3月15日至2021年3月31日的马来西亚相关数据，通过皮尔逊相关分析（Pearson correlation）与简单线性回归方法，识别人口相关变量与新冠疫情传播之间的关联。结果显示，总人口与新冠确诊病例数之间存在显著的强正相关关系；但人口密度、加权人口密度这两项密度变量与新冠疫情传播之间仅存在弱正相关关系。本研究结果表明，在马来西亚封锁管控（行动管制令，Movement Control Order, MCO）期间，相较于人口密度或加权人口密度，人口规模这一人口统计变量更能够解释新冠疫情的传播情况。因此，本研究可为马来西亚未来的病毒暴发干预规划与疫情管理提供参考依据。