New method to help detect at-risk areas for COVID-19 spread.

ISLAMABAD -- In the fight against Covid-19, researchers have developed a strategy to use data from existing cellular wireless networks to identify areas that are at the greater risk of disease. The new method helps identify places where asymptomatic carriers have a higher chances of coming in close contact with large numbers of healthy people. The technique, published in the IEEE Open Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology, could help regions manage risks and avoid scenarios like the recent outbreak in New York in the US, Medical Daily reported . 'Our findings could help risk managers with planning and mitigation. It might prompt them to cordon off a busy plaza, for example, or implement stricter social distancing measures to slow the spread of virus,' said study researcher Edwin Chong from Colorado State University in the US.

The researchers tried to understand how mobile device users moved and gathered over time in an area by leveraging whats known as handover and cell (re)selection protocols: the cellular network technologies that allow us to move about freely with our mobile devices without losing service.Using data collected through these networks, Chongs team measured handover and cell (re)selection activity, called HOCS rates, to calculate localised population...