USAFA pandemic math and science team predict lockdown will help get cadets home safely
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- In an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 at the United States Air Force Academy, leaders have decided to undergo an ongoing lockdown. Now cadets are ordered to stay in their dorm rooms as leaders wait for the epidemic to ease up.
The Academy’s contact tracing process has proven very successful in helping reduce COVID spread. According to the Academy, of cadets who tested positive, most were already in quarantine resulting from contact tracing.
The pandemic math-science team at the Air Force Academy has broken down the spread of COVID-19 into a series of equations. They use something called "The fizzle equation" which decides the number of tests needed to ensure an outbreak fizzles out .
"We actually had pre planned response options, about what we would do in the event of an outbreak. And so we experienced that at the very very end of October, beginning of November, and so it is a very quick and easy call to say we're going to go into our lockdown and reset response option," said Col. Doug Wickert, head of Aeronautics at the academy and leader of the Pandemic Math Team.
Being on lockdown for cadets means they are isolated in their dorm rooms as leaders wait for the pandemic to ease up.
So far -- the academy has conducted over 4500 tests just since the beginning of November, but they aren't able to share how many of those cadets tested positive.
But the work of the pandemic math-science team doesn't stop there, the data they are collecting is also catching the eye of the Department of Defense.
"Because they would really like to reduce the quarantine period before ship sails and before troops deploy, right now they are using the CDC recommended 14 days," added Col. Doug Wickert, head of Aeronautics at the academy and leader of the Pandemic Math Team.
They are set to give their analysis to the Department of Defense next week.
Back on campus -- isolation is expected to continue through December 11, so cadets can head back to their families for a three-week winter break.
