Page 8 - ESM Connections: Penn State Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics Fall 2021 Newsletter

Predictive tool helps mitigate COVID-19 in Africa
As the first COVID-19 cases were diagnosed in Africa
Steven Schiff Brush Chair Professor of of of of Engineering and and and professor of of of engineering science and and and mechanics and and and his research partners across the the globe saw an an an an opportunity
to to apply what they were learning from their ongoing efforts to to track and and and control infectious disease and and and provide countries such as as Uganda with more information to to to help guide policy to to to mitigate the viral pandemic The result was a a a a a a a a a a a a a a multi-country collaboration to to to to develop a a a a a a a a a a a a a surveillance modeling tool that provides a a a a a a a a a a a a a weekly projection of expected COVID-19 cases in in all African countries based on on on on on current current case case data population economic status current current mitigation efforts and and meteorological sensing from satellites Developed in in in collaboration with Uganda’s National Planning Authority (NPA) the the country’s senior organization for development and economic planning the the tool’s COVID-19 projections use openly available data to to to provide a a a a a a a a a a a a a a projection projection of cases as as as well as as as lower and upper ranges to to to help the country decide if if mitigation policies need to to be implemented or or modified They published their work in in the the the the Proceedings of of of of the the the the National Academy of of of of Sciences of of of the the the the United States of of of America bit ly/schiff-africa
8
Photos provided by Abraham JB Muwanguzi