Check Your Indoor Coronavirus Exposure Risk In Redwood City
REDWOOD CITY, CA —Amid an explosion of coronavirus cases statewide and across the nation, California’s top health official has joined a chorus of public health experts urging the public not to attend Thanksgiving gatherings this year.
Leading public health officials believe the increase in indoor gatherings this Thanksgiving weekend is likely to lead to a surge in COVID-19 cases that could overwhelm hospitals that in many areas are already on the brink.
If you’re even considering attending a Thanksgiving gathering with those outside your household, California’s health secretary is urging you to consider the impact of your decision on others.
“It’s as important to say no even when it comes to the closest people in our family,” Dr. Mark Ghaly said according to an Associated Press report.
Ghaly has barred his mother from his family’s dinner table this year according to the report.
“Game time decisions happen all the time. ... Call that audible, make a decision to do something a little different.”
A tool developed with the help of Stanford researchers lets you assess your coronavirus risk exposure at indoor gathering.
The tool shows the estimated chance — between 0 and 100 percent — that you'll encounter at least one infected person at an event in your county.
You can reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19 by wearing a mask, adhering to social-distancing guidelines and gathering outdoors in smaller groups.
As of Wednesday, if you were to attend an event with at least 15 people in San Mateo County, there's a 10 percent chance that someone in the group could expose you to the virus, according to the COVID-19 Risk Assessment Planning Tool.
Two Georgia Institute of Technology professors led the creation of the project. 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."
This article originally appeared on the Redwood City-Woodside Patch
