See The Risk Of Coronavirus Exposure Indoors In DC

WASHINGTON, DC — As people prepare to celebrate over Christmas weekend and coronavirus cases and hospitalizations show no sign of slowing down in the U.S., officials are once again asking residents to stay within their own homes and many states have already imposed restrictions around the holidays.

Here is the latest guidance from the D.C. Department of Health :

Epidemiologic data suggests that private gatherings are a strong contributor to transmission of the COVID-19 virus. Mayor’s Order 2020-119 limits the number of people that can attend an indoor social gathering to 10 people. The 10-person limitation applies to private homes, dormitories, hotels, apartments, condominiums and cooperatives, and party or common rooms of such permanent or temporary residences.

For those planning on hosting a gathering or visiting others, a tool developed by researchers from several universities lets you see your risk of exposure to the virus at an indoor gathering. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also lists things people should consider if traveling or attending a gathering.

The tool shows the estimated chance is between 1-25 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 D.C., there’s a 23 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 16 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.

"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.

Amber Fisher contributed to this report.