On Reliability of the COVID-19 Forecasts

Baruah, H. K.

In this expository article, we are aiming to show with an example that even short term forecasts regarding the COVID-19 spread pattern may sometimes not be very reliable. We have studied data published by Worldometers.info to get numerically an approximate formula of the spread pattern for a short period. We have observed that in the United States of America, there was a nearly exponential spread pattern for a very short period from May 3 to May 8, 2020. From May 9 to May 13, the nearly exponential character of the spread was found to be absent. Hence it can be concluded that the COVID-19 spread pattern, even after more than four months from the start of the outbreak, is not quite predictable. Therefore even short term forecasts regarding the spread may not be very reliable. We have found that forecasts using the assumption of an exponential pattern of spread may actually lead to overestimation.