See The Risk Of Coronavirus Exposure Indoors In Douglas County

DOUGLASVILLE, GA — As people continue to celebrate over the New Year’s weekend and coronavirus cases and hospitalizations show no sign of slowing down in the U.S., officials are again asking residents to stay at home. Many states have already imposed restrictions around the holidays.

In Georgia, gatherings of more than 50 people are prohibited. Gatherings with fewer people are allowed as long as people practice appropriate social distancing and stay at least 6 feet apart. Masks aren’t mandated but they are strongly encouraged.

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 — 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 Monday, if you were to attend an event with at least 15 people in Douglas County, there’s a 35 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 drops to 25 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.