COVID-19 has drastically altered the way people live their lives. As cities reopen and many activities resume, individuals are faced with the challenge of determining what is safe for them. The limited amount of information available makes it very difficult for people to assess the risk of COVID-19 infection they face when attending events with varying crowd size.
To address this issue, a team of interdisciplinary researchers from the Applied Bioinformatics Laboratory (ABiL), Georgia Tech, and Stanford University led by Dr. Joshua Weitz developed the COVID-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool. This online dashboard uses real-time data on COVID-19 cases in U.S. counties and states to provide estimates of infection risk in gatherings of different sizes.
ABiL bioinformaticians Dr. Lavanya Rishishwar and Ph.D. candidate Aroon T. Chande participated in the development of the COVID-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool. “This innovative dashboard assists individuals in assessing their risk so they can take appropriate precautions to reduce transmission when attending gatherings,” Chande said. “The interactive visualizations help individuals make informed decisions by answering the question: ‘What is the chance someone at an event will be infected with COVID-19?’ and by making them aware of how infection risk increases significantly as crowd size increases.”
The team hopes that this information, coupled with mask-wearing, practicing social distancing, handwashing, monitoring for symptoms, and briefly interacting outdoors at a distance, can help people better take care of themselves and others in their community as many activities resume.
About ABiL
Established in 2014, ABiL is a collaboration between IHRC, Inc. and the Georgia Institute of Technology. Built to provide unmatched bioinformatics support and training, ABiL consists of a dedicated team of full-time bioinformatics scientists with several decades of individual research experience. As a leader in the development of cutting-edge bioinformatics solutions, ABiL provides quality R&D output, computational tool and software development, and capacity building.
For more information, visit https://www.abil.ihrc.com/.
About IHRC, Inc.
Founded in 2007, IHRC, Inc. is an international consulting and professional services corporation that specializes in supporting federal and state government organizations, international public health organizations, and industry.
IHRC offers a robust profile of services spanning the areas of science and health, information management, management consulting, bioinformatics, and global health.
For more information, visit https://www.ihrc.com/.
