Bayesian dynamic network actor models with application to South Korean COVID-19 patient movement data

Abstract

Motivated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this article introduces Bayesian dynamic network actor models for the analysis of infected individuals' movements in South Korea during the first three months of 2020. The relational event data modelling framework makes use of network statistics capturing the structure of movement events from and to several country's municipalities. The fully probabilistic Bayesian approach allows to quantify the uncertainty associated to the relational tendencies explaining where and when movement events are established and where they are directed. The observed patient movements' patterns at an early stage of the pandemic can provide interesting insights about the spread of the disease in the Asian country.

Keywords: Bayesian inference; COVID-19 patient movements; Dynamic network actor models; Relational events.