Pandemic Analytics: How Countries are Leveraging Big Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence to Fight COVID-19?

Abstract

Emergence of coronavirus in December 2019 and its spread across the world in the following months has made it a global health concern. The uncertainty about its evolution, transmission and effect of SARS-CoV-2, has left the countries and their governments in a worrisome state. Ambiguity about the strategies that would work towards mitigating the impact of virus has prompted them to use data-driven methods. Several countries started applying big data and advanced analytics technology for management of the crisis. This study aims to understand how different nations have employed analytics to deal with COVID-19. This paper reviews various strategies employed by different governments and organizations across nations that use advanced analytics to tackle pandemic. In the current emergency of corona virus, there have been several measures that organizations have taken to mitigate its impact, thanks to the evolution of computing technology. Big data and analytical tools provide various solutions like detection of existing COVID-19 cases, prediction of future outbreak, anticipation of potential preventive and therapeutic agents, and assistance in informed decision-making. This review discusses the big data analytics and artificial intelligence approaches that policy makers, researchers, epidemiologists and private organizations have adopted. By examining the different ways and areas where data analytics has been utilized, this study provides the other nations with the progressive scheme to address the pandemic.

Keywords: Advanced analytics; Artificial intelligence; Big data; COVID-19; Coronavirus; Pandemic analytics.

Fig. 1

Application of big data analytics and AI; and total reported COVID-19 cases by countries [8]

Fig. 2

Big data analytics and AI initiatives used by nations for pandemic preparedness and response