How Networks affect the Spread of Covid-19
This is an interesting article I found about the spread of COVID-19 in South Korea. The spread of a certain infections disease is determined by the specific characteristics of the virus, whether that be the chemical or physical makeup, and the social network of people in the area the virus has spread to. The makeup of a social network can determine how fast a virus spreads, how it mutates, and so much more. Something interesting about this article is that it talks about how policy affected the spread of the virus, like how stay at home orders slowed and shortened the curve.
This article talked about the three stages of policy South Korea implemented to fight the spread of the virus throughout their country. These include the early stage which was comprised of the government suggesting not leaving homes unless absolutely necessary, the social distancing stage which was everyone 6 feet apart wearing masks only doing necessary activities, and the distancing in daily life stage which is returning to somewhat normal activities that you would do pre covid but staying distant from people you do not know and wearing masks indoors.
The conclusion found was that when the network is relatively robust, it is easier to contain the spread of the virus, because you can isolate the positive, and identify and isolate contacts.
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-87837-0