The rampant spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is worth examining from different angles. From the angle of urban spatial patterns and urban morphology, urban spatial agglomeration, polarization of spatial patterns, and the concept of centralization adopted in planning urban space are objective conditions that have aggravated the pandemic. This paper examines the mechanisms and effects that may have helped the spread of the pandemic. Considering the rapid spread and severe outcome of the coronavirus disease due to the spatial agglomeration of urban population, it is required to make a trade-off among economic, ecological and safe rationalities, and put safe rationality first.