Social distancing is a crucial strategy in controlling the spread of the new coronavirus among the population. However, the current protocols mandate uniform distancing across all cities within a state. The effectiveness of these measures could be enhanced, and their social and economic impacts minimized, were they tailored to the specific circumstances of each city or region. This is because each location is at a different stage in the disease’s progression, and hospital capacities can vary significantly from one place to another.

To address this, an interdisciplinary team led by researchers from the Center for Mathematical Sciences Applied to Industry at the University of São Paulo (Cemeai/USP-São Carlos) has developed a model. This model’s mathematical control mechanism allows for the simulation of when, how long, and to what extent distancing should be implemented in each location to prevent the health system from collapsing. The ModCovid19 project is supported by a partnership between Serrapilheira and the D’Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR). Stay tuned for the partial results.

The researchers involved in this project are:

• Tiago Pereira da Silva (Coordinator) – ICMC-USP
• Adriano Barbosa – FACET-UFGD
• Claudia Sagastizábal – Unicamp
• Claudio Struchiner – UERJ
• Dan Marchesin – IMPA
• Francisco Louzada – ICMC-USP
• Guilherme Goedert – University of Rome
• Krerley Oliveira – UFAL
• Luis Gustavo Nonato – ICMC-USP
• Paulo Silva – Unicamp
• Sérgio Lira – UFAL
• Thales Vieira – UFAL