Abstract: SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) has impacted not only health, but the economy and how we live daily life. On January 30, 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency. COVID-19 was officially named on February 11, as it continued to spread across Asia and Europe. Mathematicians have found themselves at the front seat of this race against COVID-19. However, there is still a lot of unanswered questions and challenges regarding the outcome of several models as well as their limitations. It is unclear at this time if there is a "better" model, and while most of the challenges in epidemiological forecasting come from incomplete data and impossibility to model people's behavior, there is still the question of what model to use when and for what purpose. Throughout the current COVID-19 pandemic, most results and forecasting come from one model but not a combination. We consider what can be learned from running both compartment and agent based models side-by-side; taking and applying the best of each model using the measured data. We will also discuss the Hawaiian Islands are providing a unique opportunity to study heterogeneity and demographics in a controlled environment due to the geographically closed borders and mostly uniform pandemic-induced governmental controls and restrictions.
Epidemiological modeling, and COVID-19 Heterogeneity in Islands Chain Environment