See The Risk Of Coronavirus Exposure Indoors In Fairfax County

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — 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 state of Virginia:

Both small gatherings, such as dinner parties and birthday parties, and large gatherings, such as weddings and funerals, pose a risk of spreading COVID-19 among communities. This is especially true if there is a high level of community transmission. Social gatherings are currently limited to 10 individuals, per Executive Order 72, and should follow the relevant section in the Guidelines for All Business Sectors.

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 25-50 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 Arlington, there’s a 26 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 18 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.