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Modeling COVID-19 spread in small colleges

2021; Public Library of Science; Volume: 16; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1371/journal.pone.0255654

1932-6203

Riti Bahl, Nicole Eikmeier, Alexandra Fraser, Matthew Junge, Felicia Keesing, Kukai Nakahata, Lily Reeves,

COVID-19 Digital Contact Tracing

We develop an agent-based model on a network meant to capture features unique to COVID-19 spread through a small residential college. We find that a safe reopening requires strong policy from administrators combined with cautious behavior from students. Strong policy includes weekly screening tests with quick turnaround and halving the campus population. Cautious behavior from students means wearing facemasks, socializing less, and showing up for COVID-19 testing. We also find that comprehensive testing and facemasks are the most effective single interventions, building closures can lead to infection spikes in other areas depending on student behavior, and faster return of test results significantly reduces total infections.