See Your Coronavirus Exposure Risk Indoors In Union County

UNION COUNTY, NJ — 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 Tuesday, if you were to attend an event with at least 15 people in Union County, there’s a 33 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 24 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.

Gov. Murphy announced that New Jersey reduced the limits on indoor gatherings from 25 to 10 people beginning last Tuesday, Nov. 17. Read More: Gov. Murphy: NJ To Lower Gathering Limits Amid Coronavirus Spikes

Here is what the rules specifically say:

Indoor gatherings

The limit for weddings, funerals, memorial services and religious and political activities remain unchanged and will be limited to 25 percent of the capacity of the room in which the gathering takes place, up to a maximum of 150 individuals.

Indoor sporting competitions and practices will be permitted to exceed the 10-person limit only for people necessary for the practice or competition, such as players, coaches, and referees, but may not exceed 150 individuals. For most indoor sports, this will mean that there can be no spectators.

Legislative and judicial proceedings are not subject to the indoor gatherings limits.

It's not clear how enforceable the new rules will be. Authorities have typically targeted parties that have had hundreds of people, but smaller gatherings have been harder for police and other law enforcement to track.

— Amber Fisher and Tom Davis contributed to this report.

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