Study: Eating outside is more risky for Covid-19 than taking the bus

KOMPAS.com – A new study comparing the risk of infection Covid-19 from some activity found that eating out the house is more risky than taking public transportation or going to a salon.

The study, conducted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), involved 314 adults showing symptoms of Covid-19 in 10 states in July 2020.

154 of them were found positive for Covid-19, while 160 were negative for Covid-19.

Participants were interviewed about their activities during the two weeks prior to symptoms, and whether they used masks when doing so.

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The results revealed that as many as 71 percent of people who were found positive for Covid-19 always used masks in public spaces, while 74 percent of people who were negative for Covid-19 responded similarly.

Both groups also used public transportation equally, to the office, going to the gym, salon, shopping and visiting other people’s homes.

However, when asked about their eating out habits, the results differed greatly.

The group who tested positive for Covid-19 was twice as likely to eat at a restaurant in the 14 days before becoming symptomatic, than the group who were negative.

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However, the groups were positive corona virus were also more likely to report having had close contact with someone who was also positive, which was 42 percent compared to 14 percent in the Covid-19 negative group.

The results therefore changed drastically when the researchers excluded people who had direct contact with Covid-19 positive patients in both groups.

They found that those remaining in the Covid-19 positive group were three times more likely to eat at restaurants and four times more likely to hang out at bars or cafes.

Seeing this, the researchers emphasized that no other activity in the survey could be associated with an increased risk of Covid-19 infection, apart from eating and drinking outside.

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“(This is because) masks cannot be used effectively while eating and drinking, while shopping and other indoor activities do not prevent the wearing of masks,” they wrote.

The research team acknowledged that this study had several limitations, including the small number of participants and the not yet considering the type of restaurant they visited, whether in an enclosed space or an open space.

However, the results are in line with previous concerns about the safety of eating out during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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