A recent survey of adults who tested positive for COVID-19 found that they were “twice as likely” to have recently dined at a place to eat than those who tested negative, the Centers for Disease Control said in a new study.
The study, published Thursday, was based on a survey of 314 other people who were tested COVID-19 in July in 10 states: California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Utah, and Washington. They went to get tested because they had symptoms of COVID-19, however, of this group, 154 tested positive while the remaining 160 tested negative.
Investigators asked players about their activities in the two weeks leading up to the selection, and any of the teams, the ones that tested positive and those negative, reported going to church, gym and shops. have recently dined in a restaurant, had a drink at a bar or gone to a café.
Organizations that tested positive “were approximately twice as likely to have reported eating at a place to eat than those that tested SARS-CoV-2 [the virus that causes COVID-19] were negative,” the test authors said. In addition, those who tested positive for COVID-19 but did not know where they had been exposed to the virus were more likely to have gone to a bar or café.
RELATED: Air conditioning can spread coronavirus: nine others have become inflamed in a restaurant
The effects imply that places where the mask is used at any time, such as a place to eat where other people have to remove their mask to eat or drink, would possibly provide a greater threat of infection, the test authors said.
“Exposures and activities where the use of masks and social distance are difficult to maintain, as well as going to places that provide food or beverages on site, can be threatening points for obtaining COVID-19,” they said.
The study, however, had limitations. Researchers didn’t ask others who ate on-site to eat whether they dined indoors or outdoors, where breathing droplets are more likely to burn quickly.
“Restaurant exposure reports have been linked to air circulation,” they said. “The direction, ventilation and intensity of airflow can be only transmission of the virus, even if social estating measures and the use of masks are implemented in accordance with existing guidelines. “
The effects of the study don’t mean other people don’t go out to dinner, but they “think about how they’re going to do it,” said Dr Todd Rice, co-author of the report and associate professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. NBC News.
Rice, who lives in Nashville, said he asks to sit outside, and “even though I’m sitting at a table and the food hasn’t arrived yet, I’m still wearing a mask. [And] possibly not sitting at a table next to someone else.
According to CDC rules for restaurants and bars, driving, taking takeaway and home delivery are the “lowest risks” of COVID-19 infections. Limited-capacity outdoor dinners are a step forward, with “more risk. “rooms with six-foot remote tables are “even more at risk,” while those with no distance or reduced capacity are the “most exposed. “
RELATED: Celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern with Morgan Freeman for food rescue campaign
This study comes as many restaurants are struggling to survive. Each state and county has its own regulations for how many other people can dine inside a restaurant, and many places rely on take out and cookout dinners, if they have the area, to remain solvent without government bailouts a the view.
After months of delays, New York City will reopen its restaurants with a capacity of 25% starting September 30, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday. increasing the number of new COVID-19 infections. Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio have faced tension from customerless restaurateurs.
“Restaurants also offer a potential risk,” Cuomo said, according to the New York Times. “But there’s also a wonderful economic loss when they don’t work. “
Cuomo and Blasio said that if the rate of positive cases of COVID-19 exceeds 2%, they could oppose the resolution to allow food inside.