COVID-19 has plagued countries worldwide due to its infectious nature. Social distancing and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) are two main strategies employed to prevent its spread. A SIR model with a time-dependent transmission rate is implemented to examine the effect of social distancing and PPE use in hospitals. These strategies’ effect on the size and timing of the peak number of infectious individuals are examined as well as the total number of individuals infected by the epidemic. The effect on the epidemic of when social distancing is relaxed is also examined. Overall, social distancing was shown to cause the largest impact in the number of infections. Studying this interaction between social distancing and PPE use is novel and timely. We show that decisions made at the state level on implementing social distancing and acquiring adequate PPE have dramatic impact on the health of its citizens.
Reagan, Kelly A.; Pryor, Rachel J.; Bearman, Gonzalo M.; and Chan, David M.
"Flattening the Curve: The effects of intervention strategies during COVID-19,"
Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics: Vol. 7, 1–7.
Available at: https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/spora/vol7/iss1/1