Intelligent Blocking and Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 Based on Evolutionary Reinforcement Learning

In recent years, the global repercussions of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants have posed significant challenges to various areas, including the economic order, transportation, healthcare, and education, and the mitigation and prevention of SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious diseases have received much attention. This paper tries to develop a rational and effective intervention strategy in response to the dynamic evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. To address this issue, we first use the SEIR model to analyze the population distribution under the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic, and then integrate a deep Q-neural network (DQN) to reflect an economic quantification model contextualized within the SARS-CoV-2 scenario. Next, we propose an evolutionary deep reinforcement learning to generate an optimal and adaptive intervention strategy, by optimizing the weight sequence of the DQN. The experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method in maximizing economic benefits, while ensuring the uninterrupted functionality of medical institutions. Importantly, the learned intervention strategy exhibits the applicability to other infectious diseases.