Masked servers and cooks, socially distant tables and rules on how to remove the mask just to eat are still not enough to stop the spread of the new coronavirus during meals indoors.
This is according to a new study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which adds to the growing research that there is a connection between dining out and the increase in outbreaks of COVID-19.
The researchers examined county-level data from March 1 through December 31, which found that daily infections and death rates decreased 20 days after applying the mask. They also found that six to 11 weeks after counties reopened their restaurants for on-site dining, there was an increase in infections and deaths.
“Masking mandates have been associated with statistically significant reductions in daily cases of COVID-19 at the county level and growth rates of mortality within 20 days of implementation,” say the researchers in the study. “Allowing on-site restaurant dinners to be associated with county-level case increases and death rates 41-80 days after reopening.”
Notably, the CDC has some theories as to why there was a delayed increase in COVID-19 cases from six to 11 weeks after the point at which counties and states allowed restaurants to reopen. First, they speculate that restaurant patrons may have behaved “more cautiously” during the first few weeks of dinner reopening, and then became less cautious over time. Alternatively, restaurants may have waited a few weeks to formally reopen after counties have lifted their requests for a ban on restaurant meals. (The symptoms of COVID-19 usually appear two weeks after infection, which is why a delayed increase of six to 11 weeks in infections is peculiar.)
A caveat to the study is that the data collected by the CDC “did not differentiate between indoor and outdoor meals, adequate ventilation and compliance with physical distance and occupation requirements,” according to the report. In other words, we are seeing a general statistical sample of what happens when jurisdictions open restaurants, both internal and external. This means that meals outdoors can also be dangerous.
“Additional analysis is needed to assess the delayed increase in the rates of growth of cases and deaths,” says the CDC report.
A separate CDC study published in September 2020 found that people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 were twice as likely to have had dinner at a restaurant in the past 14 days before becoming ill than those with a negative coronavirus test. The study received a critical response from the National Restaurant Association. “It is irresponsible to attribute the spread of COVID-19 to a single sector,” the commercial group said in a statement. “Restaurants have historically operated with highly regulated safety protocols based on the FDA Food Code and have taken additional steps to meet the safe operating guidelines required by the CDC, FDA, OSHA, federal, state and local authorities.”
The most recent CDC study comes at a time when more states and cities are allowing restaurants to open their doors without limitations – and when restaurants and bars are vitally supported after being closed and shut down for almost a year. The National Restaurant Association estimated that sales in the sector fell $ 240 billion in 2020.
There were dozens of articles asking the question: “Are indoor meals safe?” Most, if not all, suggest that it is not because of the accumulation of research and advice from medical experts – unless it is done with care. Measures such as social distance in a well-ventilated space and the use of masks by customers, unless they are eating and drinking, are often advised and reported to reduce the risk of activity. The CDC explains on its website: “The more an individual interacts with others and the longer this interaction, the greater the risk of spreading COVID-19.”
“Masks can reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 when used consistently by customers and employees, especially when social distance measures are difficult to maintain,” says the CDC. “The risk of spreading COVID-19 increases in a restaurant or bar as interactions increase about 1.8 m from other people, as described below.”
However, in the new CDC study, the federal agency concluded that banning meals on site could slow the spread of COVID-19 in the event of future outbreaks with new variants.
“With the emergence of more transmissible variants of COVID-19, community mitigation measures are increasingly important as part of a larger strategy to decrease exposure and reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2,” says the study. “Community mitigation policies, such as masked mandates issued by the state and banning meals in local restaurants, have the potential to slow the spread of COVID-19, especially if implemented with other public health strategies.”
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