MODUS-COVID: Model-based investigation of school closures and other measures to mitigate Covid-19 - Subproject 3: Parameter estimates, detailed infection dynamics, and high performance computing

The spread of SARS-CoV-2 poses considerable problems for the world, including Germany. As is well known, extensive restrictions on normal life have been decided to avert an overload of the health system. In this cooperation between Technische Universität Berlin (Prof. Nagel, Department of Transport System Planning and Telematics), the Humboldt University of Berlin (Prof. Brockmann, Institute for Theoretical Biology) and the Free University of Berlin (Prof. Schütte, Zuse Institute Berlin) complex model applications are used to investigate the infection dynamics in an urban, regional and nationwide context. The overall goal of the MODUS-COVID joint project is to investigate the effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) on the infection dynamics of SARS-CoV-2, with at least initially a special focus on school closings. The project also aims to improve the understanding of infection chains and the dynamics of spread within urban areas as well as in a regional and nationwide context. In addition to examining school closings, other measures and combinations of measures to curb the spread of SARS-CoV-2 are examined and model-based policy recommendations are formulated. The aim of MODUS-COVID - subproject 3 is to extend the simulation methodology to include more complex infection models, determine infection parameters based on empirical data, transfer the parameterizations to the model, and provide a high-performance computing infrastructure for run infection simulations.