NATIONWIDE - While the Centers for Disease Control has recommended against traveling for this Thanksgiving, some folks are still going to, even if it's just a short road trip. And there are tools that can help you assess your level of risk.
What You Need To Know
- The COVID-19 Event Risk Assessment Tool measures risk level at a county level
- The bigger the number of participants at an event, the higher the risk
- White House Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator says it’s more than just number in attendance
- More Coronavirus headlines | LINK: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
If you are hitting the road, how do you know you're making a safe pit stop on your way to Thanksgiving?
The COVID-19 Event Risk Assessment app from Georgia Tech University can help.
It breaks down the level of risk of attending an event, given the event size and location.
As you increase the size of the group, the risk will go up as well.
For many, it might be short trips this year to see a nearby relative. Even at that, White House officials said it's not just the number of people attending.
"I worry about that because then it gives people the option to say, well, bars and restaurants are open, then I can have 20 people over for Thanksgiving,” said White House Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx.
“I like it to be keep it to your immediate household. Because, you know, if you say it can be 10 and it's eight people from four different families, then that probably is not the same degree of safe as 10 people from your immediate household."
Other tips on reducing risk include holding small gatherings outside as well as avoiding intermingling between your college-aged family members with their grandparents.
Also this week, the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association and the American Nurses Association all joined in asking people to scale back on traditional gatherings.