HARIANHALUAN.COM – Eating out of the home today may have a higher risk of contracting Covid-19 than taking public transportation or getting a haircut at a salon, said a study.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States (CDC) highlighted the risks of activities when people are not always able to wear masks and practice social distancing, such as eating and drinking when in restaurants.
For the purposes of the study, researchers analyzed information from 314 adults who tested for Covid-19 at one of 11 health care facilities across the United States.
All of the participants admitted to experiencing some symptoms for which they were tested. About half of the participants were positive for Covid-19 while the other half were negative.
They were interviewed about the activities they did during the 14 days before symptoms appeared including going to a shop, gym, office, salon, bar or coffee shop; attending religious events, using public transportation or eating at restaurants.
Overall, people tested positive for Covid-19 reported twice as many meals in restaurants within 14 days before falling ill than people tested negative.
Once the researchers excluded people who had contact with Covid-19 patients, they found that participants who were positive ate almost three times more often at restaurants, and nearly four times more often went to bars or coffee than those who tested negative.
No other activity from the survey was associated with an increased risk of Covid-19.
The authors note that one limitation of their study was not differentiating between eating indoors and outdoors.
“Exposure and activity when wearing masks and social distancing is difficult to maintain, including going to locations that offer on-site eating and drinking, may be important risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection,” the researcher said as quoted by LiveScience, quoted Saturday, September 12. 2020.
Health experts recommend tips to reduce the risk of contracting Covid-19 while eating at restaurants, including wearing a mask when not eating and keeping a distance of 1.8 meters from people you do not live with, sitting outside if possible, and calling in advance to inquire. whether all staff in the restaurant wear masks while working.
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