ABSTRACT
Assessing the possibility of Coronavirus infection and its risk on an individual's life, estimating the spatial transmission risk based on the dynamic condition of a particular place into consideration, and communicating the same to the public is crucial for minimizing the potential impact of COVID-19. With the increase in cases world-wide, new patterns are being unfolded. Nevertheless, an application for risk assessment will not only help the researcher to quickly verify the proof of concept but also is a powerful tool to bring into notice the results immediately as one of the perfect tools for risk communication. Covira (https://covira.info) is an open-source web-based software that captures the response, calculates personal as well as regional risk, and displays the result to the end-user in the form of maps and risk cards.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has exceeded over sixty-five million cases globally. Different approaches are followed to mitigate its impact and reduce its spreading in different countries, but limiting mobility and exposure have been de-facto precautions to reduce transmission. However, a full lockdown cannot be sustained for a prolonged period. An evidence-based, multidisciplinary approach on risk zoning, personal and transmission risk assessment in near real-time, and risk communication would support the optimized decisions to minimize the impact of coronavirus on our lives. This paper presents a framework to assess the individual and regional risk of COVID-19 along with risk communication tools and mechanisms. Relative risk scores on a scale of 100 represent the integrated risk of influential factors. The personal risk model incorporates age, exposure history, symptoms, local risk and existing health condition, whereas regional risk is computed through the actual cases of COVID-19, public health risk factors, socioeconomic condition of the region, and immigration statistics. A web application tool ( http://www.covira.info ) has been developed, where anyone can assess their risk and find the guided information links primarily for Nepal. This study provides regional risk for Nepal, but the framework is scalable across the world. However, personal risk can be assessed immediately from anywhere.