With the novel coronavirus in the picture, experts say there’s a lot you need to consider before you commit to a plan. “The biggest problem with gathering to eat is that everyone must take their masks off to do it,” says Aaron E. Glatt, MD, chairman of the department of medicine and chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside, New York. Plus, the conversation that typically accompanies a meal can easily spray the novel coronavirus into the air, he says. Adding to the problem is that people who are infected with the coronavirus can transmit it before they know they have it. This situation accounts for a signification portion of COVID-19 transmission, says Ravina Kullar, PharmD, MPH, an infectious disease researcher and epidemiologist in Los Angeles and a spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). The website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) doesn’t specifically address whether restaurant dining is risky. That’s led some experts and organizations to take it upon themselves to assess the hazards of eating with other people. Part of their analysis involves distinguishing between different scenarios. The Texas Medical Association labels eating inside a restaurant as moderate-high risk, and having dinner at someone’s house or attending an outdoor (presumably crowded) barbecue as moderate risk. Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, PhD, codirector of the Health Transformation Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, has created his own COVID-19 activity risk chart, which rates outdoor dining as medium risk and an outdoor picnic or porch dining at a friend’s house (with social distancing) as low.
How to Lower Coronavirus Risks
Still, as the pandemic drags on, few of us are prepared to entirely avoid socializing, celebrating, and entertaining. “You’ve got to balance the mental health benefits with the COVID-19 risks,” Dr. Glatt says. Dr. Kullar, for example, has eaten at restaurants with people she doesn’t live with; she recently got engaged and her friends wanted to celebrate with her. But instead of having a group dinner, she went out with people one at a time and took precautions like the ones below. Remember these guidelines whenever you’re planning to eat beyond your own kitchen table or with anyone outside your household.
Keep Your Hands Clean
Fortunately, the risk of catching COVID-19 from touching or eating any food is very low, the CDC reports. “Enzymes in our stomach kill the virus,” Kullar explains. Instead, the coronavirus spreads mostly through respiratory droplets when someone coughs, sneezes, or talks. While it’s possible to catch the virus by touching food or food packaging that someone else has sprayed droplets on, then touching your face, this is not thought to be a major avenue for spread. Nonetheless, it’s wise to wash your hands often when eating food you didn’t prepare. If you’re at a restaurant, Kullar suggests placing a bottle of hand sanitizer on the table and using it regularly, especially after touching a menu or shared condiments.
Eat Outside as Much as Possible, Even Now
For months experts have been saying that eating outside, whether dining at a restaurant or picnicking in your backyard, poses much less risk than eating indoors. That’s because virus-laden particles disperse more quickly outside. With the weather turning cold in many parts of the country, eating outdoors is getting harder to do — but it’s not impossible. Find a restaurant with outdoor heaters, wear an appropriate coat and hat throughout the meal, and even bring your own lap blanket to stay warm. If you regularly entertain one or more friends at your home, consider getting a fire pit. You could even ask people in your circle to chip in.
Outside or Inside, Keep Your Distance
If you’re thinking of going out to eat with members of your household, call the restaurant in advance to ask about its social distancing policies. If the restaurant is jamming tables too close together or is packed with customers, stay away. (You can also ask if the staff always wears masks and even face shields, Kullar suggests.) What if you want to dine at a restaurant with a friend or another couple? This is tricky, since sitting at the same table inevitably means you’ll be closer than six feet. Whether you should even consider this depends on many factors, but a key one is how seriously your dining companions are taking the virus. “If you’re with one other couple who is mostly staying home and otherwise masking and social distancing, it could be reasonable to eat with them,” Glatt says. But if someone is working in a busy office or sending their children to school, your risk increases substantially. You have more control if you decide to entertain a friend in your home; you could choose to sit at separate tables at least six feet apart and open a window — even a bit can make a difference. “Anything you can do to mitigate the risk is helpful,” Glatt says.
Mask When You’re Not Eating
At a restaurant it’s tempting to take off your mask the minute you’re seated at your table, but it isn’t smart, experts say, since sitting maskless in a room with other people invites trouble. “I always leave my mask on unless I’m eating,” Kullar says, What’s more, she suggests you put your mask back on whenever a server comes to your table, since no social distancing is occurring.
Choose Restaurants With Care
If you decide to dine inside a restaurant, choose it carefully. “Best is a place with large rooms, high ceilings, and careful distancing,” says Peter Katona, MD, a clinical professor of medicine at the UCLA Schools of Medicine and Public Health in Los Angeles. And while it’s challenging to get information on the restaurant’s ventilation system, one with good air exchanges and quality filtration is ideal, so it pays to ask. Dr. Katona hopes one day restaurants will be graded for their ventilation as they are for food handling and cleanliness. If no one can tell you, use your own senses to rule out places with especially bad air exchanges; you’ll know because they will feel stuffy.
Consider Your Own Vulnerability and Local Transmission Rates
Part of the reason no one can state an absolute risk of a dining activity is because your personal susceptibility and those of your companions must be taken into account. If you have an underlying health issue like type 2 diabetes, kidney disease, a heart condition, cancer, or obesity, or if you’re over 65, your chances are higher of getting a severe case of COVID-19 if you are exposed. Disease rates in your specific location are also a factor. If test positivity rates are over 5 percent in your area, a threshold used by epidemiologists to indicate the presence of so-called community spread, all dining activities with other people are going to be riskier than if test positivity rates are closer to 1 percent. (Unfortunately, much of the U.S. is seeing rates rise at this time.)
Think Small Gatherings
If you do decide to break bread with others, you’ll want to limit the gathering to one or two other people. As Kullar observes, meeting a friend in a coffee shop is one thing; attending a big family barbecue or going to a friend’s wedding feast is quite another. “You should not participate in mass gatherings, even outside,” Kullar insists. For one thing, it’s more challenging to social distance in crowds. And experts who study virus transmission say wind might spread particles beyond the norm (which is why some recommend keeping a distance of more than six feet). The CDC advises that during this year’s holiday, you should limit dinner to people in your household; if you’re hosting just a few additional guests, try to eat outside. (You also should avoid crowded supermarkets just before Thanksgiving, so plan ahead or get groceries delivered.) Even better, skip the meal entirely and find other ways to be with family, Glatt suggests. After all, Thanksgiving is about gratitude, family, and fun as much as it is about food. Maybe this is the year to have everyone eat early at their own homes and then gather later (socially distanced and masked, ideally outdoors) to chat and watch football.
