ABSTRACT
The world is currently under the painful siege of a pandemic occasioned by the infectious Coronaviruses particularly the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is recognized as the radical aetiologic agent for the severe acute respiratory syndrome commonly tagged the COVID-19 disease. To date, no vaccine or drug has been found to be absolutely potent and efficacious for the preventive and/or curative treatment of the various variants of this disease. Nevertheless, several orthodox medications including hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, folic acid, etc. have been listed and employed for the symptomatic management of COVID-19 and allied infections. Likewise, there have been various unorthodox preparations which have been promoted in various quarters. In either case, the absoluteness of these medications in respect of their potency has remained a cause of argument. Uninterestingly, across supposed reported recoveries from the scourge of the disease, we cannot safely hold that those who recovered from the disease developed some appreciable level of immunity which could ultimately translate to herd immunity and whether or not this herd immunity could bestow some prospective confidence on the reduction of the risks related to the disease spread. Unarguably, the world is presently in the middle of an imbroglio necessitating rapid and continuous research that draws from vital disciplines such as biomedicine, biotechnology, sociology, Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Having regard to the increasing role of ML and AI in various domains of healthcare, this chapter provides a detailed background of the disease, challenges, opportunities and remedies that could be rendered through the adoption of ML and AI.
