Despite being one of the largest cities on Earth, Tokyo, and Japan as a whole, have reported a comparatively low number of cases and deaths throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. During the TMG visit, CMMID members heard about the different phases of response, and the considerable infectious disease data collected. During the pandemic, mathematical modelling played a key role, and the similarities and differences between its use in the UK and Japan where discussed. CMMID members presented an overview of the research carried out during the pandemic, and current activities to support future pandemics, such as Epiverse-Trace. Several students from the LSHTM-Nagasaki PhD programme presented their research, illustrating just some of the ongoing UK-Japan collaborations present at LSHTM. There was a lot of enthusiasm from TMG members for skills development in using and interpreting mathematical models to support decision making in future epidemics.
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