When and How to Safely Reopen Schools and Campuses During COVID-19 Pandemic?

Background: Since March 2020, school closures successfully slowed the transmission of COVID-19, yet simultaneously caused massive economic and employment issues. Some attempts to reopen only caused numerous COVID-19 outbreaks, forcing schools to close again. Thus, it is necessary to offer informed, science-driven decisions on how to safely reopen college campuses amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: Hence, we present a novel spatiotemporal individual-based framework to model COVID-19 transmission on campuses. This system has been developed to integrate the movement of individual people and public health risks as well as control policies to derive the best possible accurate prediction of potential confirmed cases. The model is able to simulate the trajectory of the COVID-19 cases and provide potential customers a reliable method to scientifically monitor the campus status, to promote a safe reopening without worrying too much about the virus spreading.Findings: By comparing simulation predictions with the recorded positive cases at two different universities, this model shows high accuracy. We found the most effective control policies were mask enforcements, viral testing, and vaccinations. If these policies are implemented with 95%+ enforcement, outbreaks can be successfully contained for school re-openings within the first month.Interpretation: A scientific model developed shows that enforcing masks, viral testing every three days, and vaccinations ensure safe school re-openings during the COVID-19 pandemic.Funding Information: Funding is provided by the National Science Foundation. Declaration of Interests: We declare no competing interests.