Abstract
At the end of 2020, policy responses to the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak have been shaken by the emergence of virus variants. The emergence of these more contagious, more severe, or even vaccine-resistant strains have challenged worldwide policy interventions. Anticipating the emergence of these mutations to plan ahead adequate policies, and understanding how human behaviors may affect the evolution of viruses by coevolution, are key challenges. This article hopes to provide a simple, starting illustration to these important, complex dynamics. We present a dual genetic algorithm model in which viruses fighting for survival and policy measures aiming at minimising infection rates in the population competitively evolve. Simulation runs reproduce the emergence of more contagious variants, and identifies the evolution of policy responses as a determinant cause of this phenomenon. This evolution opens new possibilities to visualise the impact of governments interventions not only on outbreak dynamics, but also on its evolution, to improve the efficacy of policies.