Forecasting COVID-19 Cases in Egypt Using ARIMA-BasedTime-Series Analysis

Abstract

Objectives: The World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a public health emer gency of international concern on January 30, 2020. Since it was first identified, COVID-19 has infected more than onehundred million people worldwide, with more than two million fatalities. This study focuses on the interpretation ofthe distribution of COVID-19 in Egypt to develop an effective forecasting model that can be used as a decision-makingmechanism to administer health interventions and mitigate the transmission of COVID-19. Methods: A model was developed using the data collected by the Egyptian Ministry of Health and used it to predictpossible COVID-19 cases in Egypt. Results: Statistics obtained based on time-series and kinetic model analyses suggest that the total number of CO VID-19 cases in mainland Egypt could reach 11076 per week (March 1, 2020 through January 24, 2021) and the numberof simple regenerations could reach 12. Analysis of the ARIMA (2, 1, 2) and (2, 1, 3) sequences shows a rise in the numberof COVID-19 events. Conclusion: The developed forecasting model can help the government and medical personnel plan for the imminentconditions and ensure that healthcare systems are prepared to deal with them.