The implementation of a lockdown to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a strong economic and political debate in several countries. This makes it crucial to shed light on the actual benefits of such kind of policy. To this purpose, we focus on the Swiss lockdown during the...

This article develops a detailed epidemiological multi-factor model, the K-susceptible-exposed-infected-removed (K-SEIR) model, and several simpler sub-models as its building blocks. The general model enables us to account for all the relevant COVID-19 features, its disparate impact on different...

Different strains of influenza viruses spread in human populations during every epidemic season. As the size of an infected population increases, the virus can mutate itself and grow in strength. The traditional epidemic SIR model does not capture virus mutations and, hence, the model is not...

Blood pressure apparatuses, stethoscopes and thermometers serve as vehicles for pathogens. Previous studies have shown that these equipment harbor potentially pathogenic microorganisms and even antibiotic-resistant strains within the hospital environment. Practice of good infection control on...

Social distancing restrictions, as measured by the Oxford stringency indicator, constitute the one variable that is most tightly correlated with the recession and recovery across EU member states.

Durch die Änderung des Infektionsschutzgesetzes Ende November 2021 wurde die Abbildung der 3G- und 2G-Quoten auf betrieblicher Ebene knapp ein Jahr nach Beginn der Impfungen möglich. Mithilfe einer Online-Blitzumfrage der Unternehmerverbände Niedersachsen, IHK Hannover, creditreform und dem...

Escape variants can cause new waves of COVID-19 outbreaks and put vaccination strategies at risk. To prevent or delay the global spread of these waves, virus mobility needs to be minimised through screening and testing strategies, which should also cover vaccinated people. The costs of these...

A number of shortcomings in Germany's efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus, including fraudulent testing, vaccination fraud and insufficient testing capacity have been identified and need to be remedied before another wave or worse, another pandemic. This paper examines the failures...