NATIONWIDE — With Thanksgiving coming next week and more holidays right around the corner, the surge in coronavirus cases couldn’t come at a worse time.
Every indoor gathering presents a risk of contracting COVID-19, but just how much you’d be putting yourself at risk by attending, for instance, a Thanksgiving gathering, will depend on your location and the number of guests.
Now, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have created a tracking tool that estimates the likelihood that at least one attendee will be positive for COVID-19 based on the county in which the gathering is taking place and the number of guests.
The COVID-19 Event Risk Assessment Tracking Tool assumes, due to increases in testing and other data, that there are five times more cases than are being reported. Researchers also note that in locations where testing is more limited, that bias may be higher.
For instance, in Travis County, Texas, assuming 25 attendees, the tool estimates a 15% chance that at least one attendee will be positive for the virus. For nearby Bexar County, assuming the same number of attendees, the tool estimates a 16% risk.
If you were to visit the Las Vegas, Nevada, area for a gathering, the tool, assuming 25 guests, puts the chances of one positive case in Clark County at 39%. Oakland County, Michigan, comes with a 44% risk.