# COVID-ABS: An Agent-Based Model of COVID-19 Epidemic to Simulate Health and Economic Effects of Social Distancing Interventions

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.10532 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.10532/

## Key facts

- Cited by 18 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 9 Jun 2020.

## Built on by (most cited first, 18 of 18)

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- [Modelling the COVID-19 virus evolution with Incremental Machine Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.09325/) (2021)
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- [A Microscopic Pandemic Simulator for Pandemic Prediction Using Scalable Million-Agent Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.06589/) (2021)
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- [A Multi-Task Learning Framework for COVID-19 Monitoring and Prediction of PPE Demand in Community Health Centres](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.09402/) (2021)
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- [SARS-CoV-2 Dissemination using a Network of the United States Counties](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.13723/) (2021)
- [Deep Learning-based Spatially Explicit Emulation of an Agent-Based Simulator for Pandemic in a City](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.14396/) (2022)
- [Agent-Based Model: Simulating a Virus Expansion Based on the Acceptance of Containment Measures](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.15723/) (2023)
- [Advancing calibration for stochastic agent-based models in epidemiology with Stein variational inference and Gaussian process surrogates](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.19550/) (2025)
- [Neural Network-Based Parameter Estimation of a Labour Market Agent-Based Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.15572/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The COVID-19 pandemic due to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has directly impacted the public health and economy worldwide. To overcome this problem, countries have adopted different policies and non-pharmaceutical interventions for controlling the spread of the virus. This paper proposes the COVID-ABS, a new SEIR (Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered) agent-based model that aims to simulate the pandemic dynamics using a society of agents emulating people, business and government. Seven different scenarios of social distancing interventions were analyzed, with varying epidemiological and economic effects: (1) do nothing, (2) lockdown, (3) conditional lockdown, (4) vertical isolation, (5) partial isolation, (6) use of face masks, and (7) use of face masks together with 50% of adhesion to social isolation. In the impossibility of implementing scenarios with lockdown, which present the lowest number of deaths and highest impact on the economy, scenarios combining the use of face masks and partial isolation can be the more realistic for implementation in terms of social cooperation. The COVID-ABS model was implemented in Python programming language, with source code publicly available. The model can be easily extended to other societies by changing the input parameters, as well as allowing the creation of a multitude of other scenarios. Therefore, it is a useful tool to assist politicians and health authorities to plan their actions against the COVID-19 epidemic.