ABSTRACT
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus, otherwise known as COVID-19, a pandemic. Originating from Wuhan in Hubei province, China in December 2019, the pandemic has spread to more than 200 countries across the globe. The number of people infected globally by the disease has risen to more than 2.2 million, and over 154,219 people have died as a result of this disease as of April 18, 2020. Although China, the epicentre of the pandemic, has in recent weeks recorded only a few new cases of the disease and very few deaths, The number of cases and deaths has continued to upsurge in mostly developed nations such as the United States of America (USA), Spain, Italy, France, and Germany. There is, however, speculation that developing countries, many of which have continued to record lower cases of the disease, will likely see a rise in the near future. In this chapter, we apply machine learning models for the assessment of the trend and spread of the virus in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and India. The analysis showed a similar trend in the rise of the epidemic in these countries and an increase in the number of cases forecast for the near future in all four countries. We evaluated the social, cultural, and economic impacts of this pandemic on these countries and how the disease is impacting the mental well-being of the masses. Finally, we analysed how government response policies have affected the spread of the pandemic and the contributions of social media to the dissemination of vital information to facilitate the containment of the global spread of the virus. © 2022 Nova Science Publishers, Inc..