See Your Coronavirus Exposure Risk Indoors In Bucks Co.

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — 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 Wednesday, if you were to attend an event with at least 15 people in Bucks County, there’s a 29 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 20 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.

Last week, Pennsylvania health officials announced new "targeted efforts" to control the surge of the coronavirus that has hit much of the nation this fall. Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine said the new restrictions were needed ahead of an anticipated hospital surge following the drastic spike in cases.

Anyone who visits Pennsylvania must now get tested within 72 hours before entering the state. Those who do not have their test results upon coming to Pennsylvania or cannot get a test will need to quarantine 14 days, Levine said.

Pennsylvania residents who are traveling must follow the same rules, with the exception of those who commute to work in an adjacent state.

Masks are still required indoors and outdoors but now, when indoors, masks will be required anytime you are with people outside of your household, even when socially distanced. Masks are required inside every indoor facility, including gyms and public transportation.

Philadelphia, meanwhile, has instituted a ban on indoor dining, a limit of 10 on outdoor gatherings and the closure of gyms, museums, libraries, arcades, bowling alleys, casinos, and movie and performance theaters.

Amber Fisher contributed to this report.