• Speaker: Amy Hurford, Memorial University

• Date and Time: Tuesday, January 11, 2022 - 1:00pm to 2:00pm

• Location: Online

• Abstract: During the COVID-19 pandemic, some jurisdictions have implemented travel restrictions in combination with a suppression strategy and have experienced a COVID-19 epidemic that has been dominated by travel-related cases. In this talk, I will describe an approach to predictive importation modelling, quantify the effect of various travel restrictions, and describe the characteristics of jurisdictions that affect whether suppression or mitigation is the preferred public health approach.

• Dr. Amy Hurford is an Associate Professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador in the Biology and Mathematics and Statistics departments, with a cross-appointment to the Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Hurford completed her MSc in Biology at the University of Alberta, and her PhD in Mathematics and Statistics at Queen's University. Dr. Hurford is a mathematical biologist whose research applies mathematical modelling to population dynamics, ecology, and evolutionary epidemiology. Dr. Hurford recently served as a member of the Predictive Analytics modelling group, and is a member of the Public Health Agency of Canada's External Experts Modelling Group, the Modelling Advisory Group to the COVID Immunity Task Force, the Canadian Network for Modelling Infectious Disease, Mathematics for Public Health, and the One Health Network for Modelling.

• Further information

{https://ahurford.github.io/website/#dr.-amy-hurford}

• Relevant publications

'Modelling the impact of travel restrictions on COVID-19 cases in Newfoundland and Labrador'

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.202266

'Travel Restrictions and the Omicron Variant' https://canmod.net/public-health#omicron-travel