Early estimates of COVID-19 infections in small, medium and large population clusters

Amir Siraj, Alemayehu Worku, Kiros Berhane, Maru Aregawi, Munir Eshetu, Alemnesh Mirkuzie, Yemane Berhane, Dawd Siraj

Abstract

Introduction Since its emergence in late December 2019, COVID-19 has rapidly developed into a pandemic in mid of March with many countries suffering heavy human loss and declaring emergency conditions to contain its spread. The impact of the disease, while it has been relatively low in the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) as of May 2020, is feared to be potentially devastating given the less developed and fragmented healthcare system in the continent. In addition, most emergency measures practised may not be effective due to their limited affordability as well as the communal way people in SSA live in relative isolation in clusters of large as well as smaller population centres.

Methods To address the acute need for estimates of the potential impacts of the disease once it sweeps through the African region, we developed a process-based model with key parameters obtained from recent studies, taking local context into consideration. We further used the model to estimate the number of infections within a year of sustained local transmissions under scenarios that cover different population sizes, urban status, effectiveness and coverage of social distancing, contact tracing and usage of cloth face mask.

Results We showed that when implemented early, 50% coverage of contact tracing and face mask, with 33% effective social distancing policies can bringing the epidemic to a manageable level for all population sizes and settings we assessed. Relaxing of social distancing in urban settings from 33% to 25% could be matched by introduction and maintenance of face mask use at 43%.

Conclusions In SSA countries with limited healthcare workforce, hospital resources and intensive care units, a robust system of social distancing, contact tracing and face mask use could yield in outcomes that prevent several millions of infections and thousands of deaths across the continent.

Key questions

What is already known?

• Country level estimates of infections of SARS-Cov-2 have been made for sub-Sahara Africa.

What are the new findings?

• Model-based estimates for small, medium and large population clusters under different scenarios of non-pharmaceutical interventions suggest epidemic can be brought to control with moderate social distancing, contact tracing and face mask use in urban clusters, and with minimal social distancing and moderate contact tracing measures in rural settings.

• Introducing and maintaining of face mask use at around 43% could avoid increases in the number of infections as a result of loosening social distancing measures in urban clusters.

What do the new findings imply?

• The estimates of number of infections in clusters of different size and with multiple scenarios of interventions give countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) a clear target and control strategies.

• With these estimates, governments in the SSA region would be able to plan better national and subnational epidemic responses.