As recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO), mathematical models, especially those devised in a timely fashion, can play a key role in providing health decision- and policy-makers with evidence-based information. Modeling can, indeed, better help understanding: i) how transmissible the disease is, ii) when the infectiousness is highest during the course of infection, iii) how severe the infection is, and iv) how effective interventions have been and ought to be.