A Continuous-Time Markov Chain Model for the Spread of COVID-19

Since late 2019 the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has caused a pandemic that persists. This paper shows how a continuous-time Markov chain model for the spread of COVID-19 can be used to explain, and justify to undergraduate students, strategies now being used in attempts to control the virus. The material in the paper is written at the level of students who are taking an introductory course on the theory and applications of stochastic processes.