See Your Coronavirus Exposure Risk Indoors In Boulder

BOULDER, CO — As the holiday season kicks off and officials warn residents about limiting their interactions with others outside of their own household to curb the spread of the coronavirus, a tool developed by researchers from several universities lets you see your risk of exposure to the virus at an indoor gathering.

The tool shows the estimated chance — between 0 and 100 percent — that you'll encounter at least one person with the coronavirus at an event in your county. You can reduce the risk by wearing a mask, distancing and gathering outdoors in smaller groups, researchers said.

As of Wednesday, if you were to attend an event with at least 15 people in Boulder County, there’s a 40 percent chance that someone in the group could expose you to the virus, according to the COVID-19 Risk Assessment Planning Tool. If your gathering has 10 people, that risk would be 29 percent.

Two Georgia Institute of Technology professors led the creation of the project, and their team included researchers from Stanford University and the Applied Bioinformatics Laboratory.

Don't miss the latest coronavirus updates from health and government officials in Colorado. Sign up for free Patch news alerts and newsletters for what you need to know daily.

"By default we assume there are five times more cases than are being reported," the research team said in a statement. "In places with less testing availability, that bias may be higher."

>> Access the COVID-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool here.

Boulder is under 'Level Red - Extreme Risk' on Colorado's COVID-19 dial, and indoor dining at restaurants is prohibited. Residents are asked to gather only with members of their household.

In a news conference Tuesday, Gov. Jared Polis asked Coloradans if they are "willing to live with the consequences" of gathering with family members who are outside their households.

"Right now, Coloradans are more likely to contract the virus than ever before," he said. "We all want to be with our loved ones and we will be able to do so again more safely soon."

If our state's case trend continues, intensive care unit bed capacity will be exceeded in January, state public health officials said.