Going out to eat at a restaurant might be more risky than other activities during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What the study found:
Those who tested positive for COVID-19 were twice as likely than those who tested negative to have said they went to a restaurant before they got sick.
- The restaurants were defined as “any area designated by the restaurant, including indoor, patio and outdoor seating.”
“Findings from a case-control investigation of symptomatic outpatients from 11 U.S. health care facilities found that close contact with persons with known COVID-19 or going to locations that offer on-site eating and drinking options were associated with COVID-19 positivity.”
Method:
The CDC study looked into the risks associated with doing different activities during the pandemic.
- 314 people were tested. Half tested positive and half tested negative.
- The participants came from California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Utah and Washington.
Researchers asked each participants what they had done in the two weeks before they tested positive for COVID-19, including wear a face mask, going to a restaurant, drinking at a bar, going to a gym or visiting a salon.
The takeaway
- CDC said: “Eating and drinking on-site at locations that offer such options might be important risk factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Efforts to reduce possible exposures where mask use and social distancing are difficult to maintain, such as when eating and drinking, should be considered to protect customers, employees and communities.”