Updated Holiday Guidance from the CDC
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently updated their holiday guidance, noting that virus infection rates are worsening and that small household gatherings are “an important contributor.” The CDC recommended that older adults and others at heightened risk of severe illness should avoid gathering with people outside their households.
Here at SMOHIT, we take this guidance seriously and urge people to forego their holiday travel plans this year. However, if you are planning to get together with loved ones, please keep in mind that the following precautions are more important than ever:
- Keep gatherings to fewer than 10 people
- Wear your face masks
- Wash hands regularly
- Maintain a minimum social distance of six feet
- Move festivities outside, weather permitting
In addition, be sure to monitor levels of COVID-19 in the gathering location, as well as the areas attendees will be coming from. This will help you decide whether to host or attend a gathering.
The mapping tool developed by Georgia Tech and the Applied Bioinformatics Laboratory (ABiL) is particularly useful in this regard. It shows the COVID-19 risk level of attending an event, given the event size and location.
The risk level is the estimated chance (0-100%) that at least one COVID-19 positive individual will be present at an event in a county, given the size of the event.
Simply choose an event size. Use the drop-down menu to select a county you would like to zoom in on. Click HERE to view the map and test its functionality for various applications. We hope you have a healthy and safe holiday season!