Modelling and Qualitative Analysis of the Transmission Dynamics of COVID-19 in Nigeria

Abstract

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues despite series of control measures implemented to curtail it. Therefore, it is pertinent to study how the various proposed control measures can be effectively combined in order to stem the alarming spread of the disease and its attendant consequences. In this paper, a deterministic model for the transmission dynamics of the disease, which incorporates the impacts of the various implemented control measures, is presented. Based on the proposed model, the disease’s basic reproduction number (R0) was derived and the equilibrium solutions were determined. It was shown that whenever R0 \(\le\) 1, the model has only the disease-free equilibrium which is globally stable while in circumstances where R0 > 1, there exists an endemic equilibrium which is globally asymptotically stable. When the latter equilibrium state exists, the former becomes unstable. In addition, the model parameters were estimated using Nigeria’s demographic and COVID-19 surveillance data. The model is simulated for different scenarios of the disease outbreak and the results suggest that the disease will die out quickly in the population if about half of the population adhere to personal protection, about half of exposed individuals are efficiently traced and about half of symptomatic individuals are promptly isolated and treated.