Model Predictive Control of COVID-19 Pandemic with Social Isolation and Vaccination Policies in Thailand

Abstract

This study concerns the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand related to social isolation and vaccination policies. The behavior of disease spread is described by an epidemic model via a system of ordinary differential equations. The invariant region and equilibrium point of the model, as well as the basic reproduction number, are also examined. Moreover, the model is fitted to real data for the second wave and the third wave of the pandemic in Thailand by a sum square error method in order to forecast the future spread of infectious diseases at each time. Furthermore, the model predictive control technique with quadratic programming is used to investigate the schedule of preventive measures over a time horizon. As a result, firstly, the plan results are proposed to solve the limitation of ICU capacity and increase the survival rate of patients. Secondly, the plan to control the outbreak without vaccination shows a strict policy that is difficult to do practically. Finally, the vaccination plan significantly prevents disease transmission, since the populations who get the vaccination have immunity against the virus. Moreover, the outbreak is controlled in 28 weeks. The results of a measurement strategy for preventing the disease are examined and compared with a control and without a control. Thus, the schedule over a time horizon can be suitably used for controlling.