COVID-19 and artificial intelligence: protecting health-care workers and curbing the spread

Confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) exceed those of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and, at time of publication, now stand at over 73,435 confirmed cases and over 2000 deaths globally, nearly all in China. By comparison, SARS killed 774 people in 2003, again mostly in China, the epicentre of both outbreaks. Both COVID-19 and SARS spread across continents, infect animals and humans, and use similar mechanics to enter and infect the cell. On the frontline, tactical response to COVID-19 is similar to that of SARS but one major difference exists: in the 17 years since SARS, a powerful new tool has emerged that could potentially be instrumental in keeping this virus within reasonable limits—namely, artificial intelligence (AI).