Application in the Reporting of the COVID-19 Discussion 2022

MATHEMATICS APPLICATION IN THE REPORTING OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
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Mathematics Application in the Reporting of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Executive Summary
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a critical discussion on the application of
mathematics in the reporting of a current issue, for this case the COVID-19 Pandemic, and
develop a lesson plan on the same. The paper considers the application of rates and percentages
concepts in the informing and/or obscuring of facts relating to the COVID-19 Pandemic in a
hypothetical case followed by a contextualized case for Australia and China. The analyses in the
paper reveal the possibility of the use of rates and percentages to obscure the extent of fatalities
due to the COVID-19 Pandemic in instances where proper contextualization of the figures is not
provided. The lesson plan is then designed around activities that will present the learners with
general information on the COVID-A9 Pandemic and the application of the mathematical
concepts of rates and percentages in its reporting in Australia and China.
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Mathematics Application in the Reporting of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................... 4
Application of Mathematics in the COVID-19 Pandemic Reporting..............................................4
Contextualization for the case of COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia..............................................8
Lesson Plan.................................................................................................................... 9
References................................................................................................................... 16
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Mathematics Application in the Reporting of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Introduction
The Corona Virus 2019 (COVID-19) is a virus that attacks the respiratory system and is
caused by SARS COV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2) (Cennimo,
2020). The origin of the disease in the city of Wuhan in the Chinese province of Hubei. The
symptoms of the COVID-19 include high fever, dry through, sneezing, shortness of breath, chest
tightness, loss of sense of smell and loss of sense of taste (Cennimo, 2020). The disease is
transmittable from person-person through droplets from the cough or sneeze of an infected
person.
The COVID-19 disease was initially classified as an epidemic during its outbreak in the
city of Wuhan in the Chinese province of Hubei. An epidemic refers to an outbreak of a disease
in a given locality (geographic or otherwise), with the spread of the disease being limited to the
given area very minimal chances of its spread outside that locality (Ann & Patty, 2016).
However, the COVID-19 disease was later classified as a global pandemic with the spread
moving from the city of Wuhan, and China as a whole to other countries and continents around
the world. A pandemic refers to an outbreak of a disease in a wide region (geographical or
otherwise), with the spread of the disease being rampant and high chances of its spread outside
its area of origin (epicenter) (MacBride & Tietze, 2018).
Application of Mathematics in the COVID-19 Pandemic Reporting
The reporting of the COVID-19 Pandemic as is with other outbreaks of diseases is highly
reliant on mathematics to assist in the communication of the spread of the disease to the public.
The application of mathematics in the reporting of the COVID-19 Pandemic ranges from basic
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