Post COVID-19: Latest Advances, Challenges and Methodologies

Dear Colleagues,

We are currently experiencing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), with the COVID-19 pandemic having been declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern and characterized as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. The impact of COVID-19 has extended across numerous nations, resulting in over 351 million confirmed cases and 5.5 million fatalities worldwide.

In this crucial time, the responsibility falls upon the scientific community to take a leading role in combatting COVID-19. It is our duty to step up and contribute toward the eradication of this virus. To achieve this goal, it is imperative to identify mechanisms, methodologies, models, techniques, and systems capable of aiding in various stages of the pandemic, including during its progression, early detection, containment, and preventive measures.

One significant contributor to our efforts is Artificial Intelligence (AI), which plays a pivotal role in addressing the challenges posed by COVID-19. For instance, AI techniques offer the potential to develop vaccines and targeted treatments for the virus. In the field of epidemiology, AI can assist in tracking and predicting the spread of infections, thereby aiding policymakers in making informed decisions. Utilizing visualization technology, AI provides a comprehensive global perspective that informs policy formulation. Moreover, AI's ability to rapidly and accurately diagnose COVID-19 using trained models based on routine CT scans or X-rays is noteworthy. Additionally, wearable sensors equipped with AI can monitor patients with mild COVID-19 in home-based settings. AI's analysis of human behavioral data can enhance individual and community quarantine measures, as well as social control policies. Furthermore, AI-driven predictions of coronavirus protein structures hold promise. Emotional data can be harnessed to support the mental health of COVID-19 patients enduring self-quarantine. AI also proves valuable in managing the supply chain of medical resources such as face masks and ventilators.

We invite contributions that highlight the Latest Advances, Challenges, and Methodologies in the battle against COVID-19. We welcome research that centers on mathematical models grounded in pandemic prevalence and incidence data. Submissions should elucidate significant advancements in ongoing work, including pieces that have been published, accepted for publication, or simultaneously submitted to other conferences or journals.

The scope of the topics of interest encompasses, but is not confined to, the following:

• AI-driven data analysis to combat COVID-19;
• Ensuring transparency and explainability of AI in the fight against COVID-19;
• Developing trustworthy AI solutions for addressing COVID-19 challenges;
• Utilizing evolutionary AI techniques to fight against COVID-19;
• Harnessing deep learning methodologies in the fight against COVID-19;
• Collaborative multi-agent approaches for combating COVID-19;
• Integrating multi-modal data for enhanced COVID-19 strategies;
• Exploring techniques for feature extraction, selection, reduction, and optimization;
• Predictive modeling and forecasting for tackling COVID-19;
• Deploying wearable systems in the fight against COVID-19;
• Statistical assessments of future COVID-19 trends;
• Analyzing medical images to combat COVID-19;
• Computer-aided systems for addressing the challenges of COVID-19;
• Machine learning models, methodologies, and theoretical contributions.

Prof. Dr. Yudong Zhang
Prof. Dr. Juan Manuel Gorriz
Topic Editors