UNIT 2: How Viruses Spread

Activity – VIRTUAL PANDEMIC SIMULATION

Learners will simulate the spread of a virus through facilitated interactions with each other through a video conference call.

Materials needed:

• Pen and paper

• Calculator

Directions for the game are as follows:

• Learners will pick a number from 1-10 and write it down. This will be their starting number.

• Before the learners are let loose to privately message each other, the selected “patient zero” learner will be privately messaged by the instructor to have their number as “0.”

• Be sure to get confirmation from the selected “patient zero” before the next step.

• Learners should then be given the next 5-10 minutes to privately message their fellow learners (through Zoom chat) and share their numbers, noting down who they interacted with.

• With each sharing, the learners should multiply their number with that of the other learner.

• The resulting product becomes their new number for the next time they message and share numbers with another learner.

• This repeats until each learner has a written list of 6 numbers.

Example Activity Interaction:

Learner A chooses number 7 and writes it down, then messages Learner B as seen below:

Learner A: “Hey, my number is 7, what’s yours?”

Learner B: “Mine is 32, thanks.”

Learner A then multiplies 7 x 32 and gets 224, then writes it down on their paper before messaging the next person (List: 7, 224)

Learner A: “Hey my number is 224, what’s yours?”

Learner B: “Mine is 25, thanks.”

Learner A then multiplies 224 x 25 and gets 5600, then writes it down on their paper before messaging the next person (List: 7, 224, 5600).

• Explain that sharing their numbers and multiplying them simulates how their lives may be affected by human contact and viral transmission in a real-world pandemic.

• When the time is up, ask the learners to notice the last product on their sheets. Most, if not all of the learners, should have the number zero.

• Ask patient zero to reveal themselves, then ask which students shared numbers directly with them. Compare the number of these ‘direct contact’ students with the total number of students who ended with 0s.

• Calculate the percent spread by using the formula # of 0/total number of people

The learners will not know is that one of them will be secretly selected by the instructor to be patient zero, therein lies the infection in this simulated population. Have a short discussion about what this activity teaches them about how viruses are spread in real life, making sure to make them think back to who they shared and multiplied their numbers with and who they might have caught the ‘virus’ from. Here are some key points:

• Explain how a single patient zero can infect an entire population, even if they don’t come into direct contact with everyone.

• Explain that patient zero was kept secret from the rest of the class because it is often impossible to tell who a virus carrier is just by looking at them.

• Reinforce that all viruses have unique ways of being transmitted and that a person is not to be avoided at all costs just because they are a carrier.