How many infections of COVID-19 there will be in the "Diamond Princess"-Predicted by a virus transmission model based on the simulation of crowd flow

TL;DR

This study uses a crowd flow model to simulate COVID-19 transmission on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, estimating infection numbers and evaluating the effectiveness of protective measures in preventing mass outbreaks.

Contribution

Introduces a virus transmission simulation based on crowd flow to predict infections and assess intervention strategies on a cruise ship.

Findings

Estimated 850-1009 infections during the voyage

Protective measures significantly reduce infection rates

Immediate intervention during outbreaks is highly effective

Abstract

Objectives: Simulate the transmission process of COVID-19 in a cruise ship, and then to judge how many infections there will be in the 3711 people in the "Diamond Princess" and analyze measures that could have prevented mass transmission. Methods: Based on the crowd flow model, the virus transmission rule between pedestrians is established, to simulate the spread of the virus caused by the close contact during pedestrians' daily activities on the cruise ship. Measurements and main results: Three types of simulation scenarios are designed, the Basic scenario focus on the process of virus transmission caused by a virus carrier and the effect of the personal protective measure against the virus. The condition that the original virus carriers had disembarked halfway and more and more people strengthen self-protection are considered in the Self-protection scenario, which would comparatively accord with the actual situation of "Diamond princess" cruise. Control scenario are set to simulate the effect of taking recommended or mandatory measures on virus transmission Conclusions: There are 850~1009 persons (with large probability) who have been infected with COVID-19 during the voyage of "Diamond Princess". The crowd infection percentage would be controlled effectively if the recommended or mandatory measures can be taken immediately during the alert phase of COVID-19 outbreaks.