LINKOnline: Mathematics, Modelling and Simulation Supporting the COVID-19 response in New Zealand

While global cases of COVID-19 now exceed 10 million, New Zealand is one of the few countries where community transmission has been eliminated. Mathematical models are playing an important role in the ongoing pandemic, providing insights into the spread of the virus and the effects of interventions to help inform response strategies.

This webinar will give an overview of mathematical modelling by Te Pūnaha Matatini to support New Zealand’s COVID-19 response. We describe the models used to simulate spread of COVID-19 in New Zealand, how they can help inform decisions on switching between Alert Levels, and how we are modelling the risk of new cases arriving at the border. A key measure during epidemics is the reproduction number: we discuss NZ’s reproduction number and how it compares to other countries. We also talk about Te Pūnaha Matatini’s COVID-19 Take Control simulator app, which allows users to interact with the model to simulate a COVID-19 outbreak in NZ and ‘drive’ different Alert Level scenarios.