Variant-specific interventions to slow down replacement and prevent outbreaks

Emergency and establishment of variants of concern (VOC) impose significant challenges for the COVID-19 pandemic control specially when a large portion of the population has not been fully vaccinated. Here we develop a mathematical model and utilize this model to examine the impact of non pharmaceutical interventions, including the COVID-test (PCR, antigen and antibody test) and whole genome sequencing (WGS) test capacity and contact tracing and quarantine strength, on the VOC-induced epidemic wave. We point out the undesirable and unexpected effect of lukewarm tracing and quarantine that can potentially increase the VOC-cases at the outbreak peak time, and we demonstrate the significance of strain-specific interventions to either prevent a VOC-induced outbreak, or to mitigate the epidemic wave when this outbreak is unavoidable. •A novel mathematical model incorporating emergence of variants of concern VOC.•Limited testing and whole genome sequencing (WGS) capacity is considered.•Variant-specific interventions is shown to be effective in preventing outbreak of VOC.•A large COVID-19 test capacity is required in controlling VOC epidemic waves.•Short delay in COVID and WGS test is essential to prevent or mitigate an outbreak.•Intensive contact-tracing and quarantine is key to avoiding VOC-driven outbreaks.