Fig. 9

Rank-size distributions for network component areas and cases. As expected, both China and USA show a near-unity slope scaling of component area and rank, indicating a scale-free tradeoff in component number and area. In contrast, the distributions of component case total and rank are steeper, indicating the relatively greater contribution of larger components with higher density cores and lower contribution of small isolated components. Wuhan has disproportionally more cases than the largest components for obvious reasons, although the low numbers of cases of these largest components fall well below the number expected if the scaling were linear as it is in the USA