Uncertainty Quantification for Epidemic Risk Management: Case of SARS-CoV-2 in Morocco

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a new method for epidemic risk modelling and prediction, based on uncertainty quantification (UQ) approaches. In UQ, we consider the state variables as members of a convenient separable Hilbert space, and we look for their representation in finite dimensional subspaces generated by truncations of a suitable Hilbert basis. The coefficients of the finite expansion can be determined by approaches established in the literature, adapted to the determination of the probability distribution of epidemic risk variables. Here, we consider two approaches: collocation (COL) and moment matching (MM). Both are applied to the case of SARS-CoV-2 in Morocco, as an epidemic risk example. For all the epidemic risk indicators computed in this study (number of detections, number of deaths, number of new cases, predictions and human impact probabilities), the proposed models were able to estimate the values of the state variables with precision, i.e., with very low root mean square errors (RMSE) between predicted values and observed ones. Finally, the proposed approaches are used to generate a decision-making tool for future epidemic risk management, or, more generally, a quantitative disaster management approach in the humanitarian supply chain.