COVID-19 Susceptibility Mapping Using Multicriteria Evaluation

Objective: The purpose of this research was to investigate coronavirus disease (COVID-19) susceptibility in districts of Bangladesh using multicriteria evaluation techniques. Methods: Secondary data were collected from different government organizations, 120 primary surveys were conducted for calculating weights, and results were validated through 12 key people's interviews. Pairwise comparison matrixes were calculated for 9 factors and subfactors. The analytic hierarchy process used for calculating the susceptibility index and map was prepared based on the results. Results: According to the results, multiple causal factors might be responsible for COVID-19 spreading in Bangladesh. Dhaka might be vulnerable to COVID-19 due to a higher population, population density, and international collaboration. According to the pairwise comparison matrix, the consistency ratio for subfactors and factors was in the permissible limit (ie, less than 0.10). The highest factor weight of 0.2907 was found for the factors type of port. The maximum value for the susceptibility index was 0.435219362 for Chittagong, and the minimum value was 0.076174 for Naogaon. Conclusions: The findings of this research might help the communities and government agencies with effective decision-making.