Mathematical modeling of the spread of COVID-19 among different age groups in Morocco: Optimal control approach for intervention strategies

In this article, we study the transmission of COVID-19 in the human population, notably between potential people and infected people of all age groups. Our objective is to reduce the number of infected people, in addition to increasing the number of individuals who recovered from the virus and are protected. We propose a mathematical model with control strategies using two variables of controls that represent respectively, the treatment of patients infected with COVID-19 by subjecting them to quarantine within hospitals and special places and using masks to cover the sensitive body parts. Pontryagin’s Maximum principle is used to characterize the optimal controls and the optimality system is solved by an iterative method. Finally, numerical simulations are presented with controls and without controls. Our results indicate that the implementation of the strategy that combines all the control variables adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO), produces excellent results similar to those achieved on the ground in Morocco.