Effects of social distancing and isolation modeled via dynamical density functional theory*

For preventing the spread of epidemics such as the coronavirus disease COVID-19, social distancing and the isolation of infected persons are crucial. However, existing reaction-diffusion equations for epidemic spreading are incapable of describing these effects. In this talk, we present an extended model for disease spread based on combining a susceptible-infected-recovered model with a dynamical density functional theory where social distancing and isolation of infected persons are explicitly taken into account [1]. We show that the model exhibits interesting transient phase separation associated with a reduction of the number of infections, and provides new insights into the control of pandemics. An extension of the model [2] allows for an investigation of adaptive containment strategies. Here, a variety of phases with different numbers of shutdowns and deaths are found, an effect that is of crucial importance for public health policy.

[1] M. te Vrugt, J. Bickmann and R. Wittkowski, Nature Communications, accepted (2020)
[2] M. te Vrugt, J. Bickmann and R. Wittkowski, arXiv:2010.00962 (2020)