<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

At its core, contact tracing is a form of egocentric network analysis (ENA). One of the biggest obstacles for ENA is informant accuracy (i.e., amount of true contacts identified), which is even more prominent for interaction-based network ties because they often represent episodic relational events, rather than enduring relational states. This research examines the effect of informant accuracy on the spread of COVID-19 through an egocentric, agent-based model. Overall when the average person transmits COVID-19 to 1.62 other people (i.e., the <italic>R</italic>0), they must be, on average, 75% accurate with naming their contacts. In higher transmission contexts (i.e., transmitting to at least two other people), the results show that multi-level tracing (i.e., contact tracing the contacts) is the only viable strategy. Finally, sensitivity analysis shows that the effectiveness of contact tracing is negatively impacted by the timing and overall percent of asymptomatic cases. Overall, the results suggest that if contact tracing is to be effective, it must be fast, accurate, and accompanied by other interventions like mask-wearing to drive down the average <italic>R</italic>0.
</abstract>

At its core, contact tracing is a form of egocentric network analysis (ENA). One of the biggest obstacles for ENA is informant accuracy (i.e., amount of true contacts identified), which is even more prominent for interaction-based network ties because they often represent episodic relational events, rather than enduring relational states. This research examines the effect of informant accuracy on the spread of COVID-19 through an egocentric, agent-based model. Overall when the average person transmits COVID-19 to 1.62 other people (i.e., the R0), they must be, on average, 75% accurate with naming their contacts. In higher transmission contexts (i.e., transmitting to at least two other people), the results show that multi-level tracing (i.e., contact tracing the contacts) is the only viable strategy. Finally, sensitivity analysis shows that the effectiveness of contact tracing is negatively impacted by the timing and overall percent of asymptomatic cases. Overall, the results suggest that if contact tracing is to be effective, it must be fast, accurate, and accompanied by other interventions like mask-wearing to drive down the average R0.

The impact of contact tracing on the spread of COVID-19: an egocentric agent-based model

Connections

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

running-head

At its core, contact tracing is a form of egocentric network analysis (ENA). One of the biggest obstacles for ENA is informant accuracy (i.e., amount of true...

The impact of contact tracing on the spread of COVID-19: an egocentric agent-based model

Published Online: Jun 17, 2021

Page range: 25 - 46

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/connections-2021.022

Keywords
Egocentric network analysis, Agent-based model, COVID-19, Contagion

© 2021 Andrew Pilny et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The impact of contact tracing on the spread of COVID-19: an egocentric agent-based model

Published Online: Jun 17, 2021

Page range: 25 - 46

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/connections-2021.022

KeywordsEgocentric network analysis, Agent-based model, COVID-19, Contagion

© 2021 Andrew Pilny et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Egocentric network analysis, Agent-based model, COVID-19, Contagion