Months of lockdown have made people hungry for physical interaction, and what better way to do it? Of course, that is through eating together. With restaurants and bars reopening, many of their patrons and customers have started going back.
But the real question is: is it already safe to eat in restaurants and go to bars during the pandemic? What measures do these establishments have made to prevent the transmission of the virus among their customers? Lastly, how risky is it to eat out these days?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have released rankings of the risk that entails dining out which people need to know. They also reminded people to continue practicing personal hygiene and observe it at all times to prevent further transmission of the disease.
How Safe Are The Tables Inside The Restaurant?
COVID-19 is spread through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The US FDA has said that COVID-19 is less likely to spread through food, unlike other bacteria and viruses. Even so, restaurants should emphasize the fact that their staff has been trained with a food handler card training that ensures safety for all matters related to food handling and preparation. So what about the tables in the restaurants, are they safe enough to be used in dining?
Restaurants and bars are scrambling to recover from the loss of sales brought by the lockdowns. But even after reopening for one or two weeks, many of them have either suspended or have closed their doors once again, WebMD reported.
According to Dr. Molly O'Dell, the communicable disease director of the Roanoke City and Allegheny Health Districts, some restaurants were forced to close because some of their employees have become infected.
The CDC's Community Interventions and At-Risk Task Force, COVID-19 Response co-leader Dr. Grant Baldwin said that their mantra is that the more people closely interact with others, the more likely it is for them to get infected.
CDC's Guiding Principles
The CDC has released rankings of the risk that comes with dining in restaurants from the lowest risk to more risk, even more risk, and the highest risk.
The lowest risk type of dining includes food service that is limited to drive-through, delivery, take-out, and curb-side pick up. These types of dining only take a few minutes as the person need only to get their orders and leave immediately.
While more risk dining includes on-site dining that is limited to outdoor seating wherein the seating the capacity is also reduced to allow tables to be spaced out. The CDC has also emphasized drive-through, delivery, take-out, and curb-side pick-up, which are also in the first category.
The third one is even more risk, which includes on-site dining both indoor and outdoor in which seating capacity is also reduced so tables can be spaced at least six feet apart.
Lastly, the highest risk dining type is the on-site dining on both indoor and outdoor seating, but the seating capacity is not reduced and tables are not spaced properly at about six feet apart.
The CDC reminded people to still practice personal prevention even if the lockdowns are lifted. Proper and frequent handwashing, staying home when sick, and cleaning or disinfecting their surroundings.
Check out more news and information on COVID-19 on Science Times.
