Coronavirus Spread In Prince George's: See Your Risk Of Exposure

Bowie MD

18 November, 2020

2:35 PM

Description

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — Maryland's coronavirus metrics are at their highest point in months. This fall surge led health officials to discourage holiday travel and large family celebrations. In Prince George's County, indoor gatherings are capped at 10 attendees or one person per 200 square feet of space, whichever is lower. Outdoor gatherings are limited to 25 visitors or one person per 200 square feet of space, whichever is lower. It's safest to celebrate the holidays with only the members of your household, health leaders said. They suggest spending time with other loved ones over video chat. Despite this guidance, some people still plan to travel. That carries some risk of catching the coronavirus. What is your risk of exposure? Researchers created an event risk planning tool for every county in the nation. The map shows the risk of coronavirus transmission based on an event's size and location. As of Wednesday, the tool estimated that there is a 18 percent chance that somebody in a crowd of 15 in Prince George's County would have the virus. Those odds drop to 12 percent in a group of 10, the COVID-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool predicted. You can reduce this risk by wearing a mask, staying 6 feet apart, gathering outdoors and decreasing group size, the researchers added. Two Georgia Institute of Technology professors created the model. 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." Residents can explore the data at this link. Patch's latest coronavirus update for Prince George's County is available here. Patch staffers William Bornhoft and Amber Fisher contributed reporting to this article. RELATED: How Did Hogan's Update Effect Prince George's County Regulations?More Coronavirus Regulations Hit Prince George's As Cases SoarCoronavirus Surging At Fastest Rate Since May In Prince George'sMost PGCPS Families Not Yet Ready For Return to Schools: SurveyPGCPS Will 'Prioritize Our Students' Needs,' Keep Classes Online Have a story idea? Please contact me at [email protected] with any pitches, tips or questions. Follow me on Twitter @JacobBaumgart and on Facebook @JacobBaumgartJournalist to stay up-to-date with the latest Anne Arundel County and Prince George's County news.