BUFFALO, N.Y. — For some, it's a tough decision, figuring out who to invite to Thanksgiving or whether to travel.
But now there's a new tool to help you decide.
It's the COVID-19 Risk Assessment Planning Tool, and it was developed by a team at Georgia Tech.
It can tell you just how likely it is that one person at a gathering has COVID-19. You just enter the group size and click where you live.
2 On Your Side punched in some numbers. At a dinner for 10 in Erie County right now, the risk is 18 percent. For 15 people, it is 26 percent. And for 25 people, the likelihood of someone having COVID-19 at your dinner is 39 percent.
The equation includes COVID case rates and population data.
Developers say it's a way for people to make informed decisions.
"We can say in this event, will COVID be there or not? And in many places in the country right now there is a greater than 50 percent chance," according to Dr. Chlio Andris, an assistant professor at Georgia Tech.
"There is a likelihood, high likelihood, greater than chance, that COVID will be at the event."
Again, the advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and every medical professional we've spoken to is to stay home, do not travel, and limit your Thanksgiving dinner to only those already living in your home.
