Dining out during COVID-19 pandemic is more risky than shopping or visiting someone’s house

A study found that adults with COVID-19 were twice likely to have reported dining at a restaurant 14 days prior to becoming ill than those with negative results.

Even if the government has started easing lockdown restrictions, it is advisable to avoid dining out until the COVID-19 cure is found. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has cautioned that there are high chances of contracting COVID-19 from restaurants due to poor air circulation despite adhering to social distancing measures. In addition, it is not always possible to wear masks in restaurants, which might further increase your risk of exposure.

The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published by the CDC on September 11 suggested that dining out is riskier compared to activities such as shopping or visiting someone's house, which does not require individuals to take off their masks. The findings are based on an investigation of adults aged 18 years and above who sought to test SARS-CoV-2 at 11 centres in the US from July 1 to July 29.

Dining out linked to COVID-19infection

The CDC study found that adults who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were twice likely to have reported dining at a restaurant 14 days prior to becoming ill than those with negative results.

Activities that make mask usage and social distancing difficult to maintain, such as dining out or in on-site eating, might be important risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection, the investigation noted.

Close to half of the study participants reported shopping or visiting people inside their homes on at least one day during the 14 days before the test.

Among the adults with COVID-19, over 49 per cent reported having close contact with a COVID-19 positive person, mostly family members.

Earlier research from China published in April had also reported an incident of COVID-19 transmission in a restaurant in Guangzhou, China, where one coronavirus-positive diner passed on the infection to nine more people dining there. The study indicated droplet transmission by air-conditioned ventilation.

Daycare centers can transmit COVID-19

In another study published by the CDC on the same day, researchers noted that childcare centers can play a role in the spread of COVID-19.

According to the study, 12 children tested positive for the virus at three childcare centers in Utah, the United States, and some of them transmitted the virus to their parents. An 8-month-old baby, who was one of the 12 children with COVID-19 in the study, infected both parents.

Two to three asymptomatic children also transmitted the disease and this finding adds to the speculation that children without symptoms can spread COVID-19 too.

As mentioned in the CDC report, Salt Lake County also identified two confirmed COVID-19 cases from childcare facilities within a 14-day period, from April 1 to July 10. At two of the facilities, the source of the primary infection was traced to staff members exposed to Covid-19 through a family member.

However, researchers couldn't identify the source of the outbreak in the third center. They assumed that the infection may have originated elsewhere.

Testing of contacts of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases in child care settings, including asymptomatic children, could improve control of transmission from child care attendees to family members, the CDC noted.