Caroline Colijn from SFU’s MAGPIE Research Group in British Columbia speaks about her team’s work on COVID-19 Mathematical Modelling in collaboration with the BC Centre for Disease Control and:

• Contact tracing options: their pros, cons and technological barriers
• The proven benefits of physical / social distancing and hand hygiene
• Evaluating exposure risks of various social settings (beaches, trails, clubs)
• The ideal COVID-19 data set needed in a perfect world 
• The key role that mathematical modelling has played during the pandemic
• Reasons why BC might have performed better in responding to the crisis
• Defining R0 (R naught) and prevalence as valuable metrics in understanding the virus
• Her work on the panel with Canada’s chief science advisor Dr. Mona Nemer
• How COVID-19 preparedness is different from flu preparedness
• How Canada learned from the SARS epidemic
• The limitations of reported cases vs actual cases in the population
• Why the “multiple waves” analogy is a misconception
• Why mathematical models have a threshold related to exponential growth

RESOURCES

Caroline Colijn

• on Twitter: https://twitte.com/CarolineColijn 
• at SFU: https://www.sfu.ca/math/department/faculty/colijn--caroline.html 

The MAGPIE Research Group

• at SFU: https://www.sfu.ca/magpie/home.html
• COVID-19 Research page: https://www.sfu.ca/magpie/covid-19.html
•  on Twitter: https://twitter.com/magpieresearch 

Dr. Mona Nemer (Canada's Chief Science Advisor)

• On Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChiefSciCan
• Government of Canada: https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/063.nsf/eng/h_97646.html

BACKGROUND READING

• Real-time modelling of the COVID-19 epidemic: perspectives from British Columbia:
  • Caroline Colijn and Daniel Coombs | Posted May 14, 2020
• Estimating the impact of COVID-19 control measures using a Bayesian model of physical distancing 
  • Caroline Colijn et al | Posted April 22, 2020.
• Coronavirus: ‘Incomplete’ data for Canada hurts ability to model pandemic, scientists say 
  • Beatrice Britneff | Posted April 17, 2020
• The Tyee: She Plots the Possible Arcs of the Pandemic
  • Steve Burgess | Posted March 26, 2020

ABOUT THE PODCAST

• Rate this podcast, Please share your feedback
• Best way to reach Gordon Ruby: LinkedIn
• Sci Comm and Civic Tech on Social:
  • Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube