Exploring the effectiveness of a COVID-19 contact tracing app using an agent-based model.

ABSTRACT: A contact-tracing strategy has been deemed necessary to contain the spread of COVID-19 following the relaxation of lockdown measures. Using an agent-based model, we explore one of the technology-based strategies proposed, a contact-tracing smartphone app. The model simulates the spread of COVID-19 in a population of agents on an urban scale. Agents are heterogeneous in their characteristics and are linked in a multi-layered network representing the social structure-including households, friendships, employment and schools. We explore the interplay of various adoption rates of the contact-tracing app, different levels of testing capacity, and behavioural factors to assess the impact on the epidemic. Results suggest that a contact tracing app can contribute substantially to reducing infectio

SUBMITTER: Almagor J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7746740 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature