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Can public social media data be harnessed to predict COVID-19 case counts? We analyzed approximately 15 million COVID-19 related posts on Weibo, a popular Twitter-like social media platform in China, from November 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020. We developed a machine learning classifier to identify sick posts, which are reports of ones own and other peoples symptoms and diagnosis related to COVID-19. We then modeled the predictive power of sick posts and other COVID-19 posts on daily case counts. We found that reports of symptoms and diagnosis of COVID-19 significantly predicted daily case counts, up to 14 days ahead of official statistics. But other COVID-19 posts did not have similar predictive power. For a subset of geotagged posts (3.10% of all retrieved posts), we found that the predictive pattern held true for both Hubei province and the rest of mainland China, regardless of unequal distribution of healthcare resources and outbreak timeline. Researchers and disease control agencies should pay close attention to the social media infosphere regarding COVID-19. On top of monitoring overall search and posting activities, it is crucial to sift through the contents and efficiently identify true signals from noise.
Coronavirus outbreak is one of the most challenging pandemics for the entire human population of the planet Earth. Techniques such as the isolation of infected persons and maintaining social distancing are the only preventive measures against the epi
To contain the pandemic of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Mainland China, the authorities have put in place a series of measures, including quarantines, social distancing, and travel restrictions. While these strategies have effectively dealt with the cri
COVID-19 pandemic has generated what public health officials called an infodemic of misinformation. As social distancing and stay-at-home orders came into effect, many turned to social media for socializing. This increase in social media usage has ma
Since March 2020, companies nationwide have started work from home (WFH) due to the rapid increase of confirmed COVID-19 cases in an attempt to help prevent the coronavirus from spreading and rescue the economy from the pandemic. Many organizations h
The exposure and consumption of information during epidemic outbreaks may alter risk perception, trigger behavioural changes, and ultimately affect the evolution of the disease. It is thus of the uttermost importance to map information dissemination