The answer: Maybe, but there is significant risk and most infectious disease experts decline to dine inside a restaurant at this time (see below). Here’s the guiding principles from the CDC. My own take–dine outside or at home, but not inside a restaurant for now.
Guiding Principles to Keep in Mind
The more an individual interacts with others, and the longer that interaction, the higher the risk of COVID-19 spread. The risk of COVID-19 spread increases in a restaurant or bar setting as follows:
- Lowest Risk: Food service limited to drive-through, delivery, take-out, and curb-side pick up.
- More Risk: Drive-through, delivery, take-out, and curb-side pick up emphasized. On-site dining limited to outdoor seating. Seating capacity reduced to allow tables to be spaced at least 6 feet apart.
- Even More Risk: On-site dining with both indoor and outdoor seating. Seating capacity reduced to allow tables to be spaced at least 6 feet apart.
- Highest Risk: On-site dining with both indoor and outdoor seating. Seating capacity not reduced and tables not spaced at least 6 feet apart.
COVID-19 is mostly spread by respiratory droplets released when people talk, cough, or sneeze. It is thought that the virus may spread to hands from a contaminated surface and then to the nose or mouth, causing infection. Therefore, personal prevention practices (such as handwashing, staying home when sick) and environmental cleaning and disinfection are important principles that are covered in this document. Fortunately, there are a number of actions operators of restaurants and bars can take to help lower the risk of COVID-19 exposure and spread.
Here’s what five infectious disease experts say about indoor dining as reported in the Washington Post:
Q: Would you dine inside a restaurant? Outside? Do you get takeout?
Fauci: We don’t do anything inside. I don’t eat in restaurants. We do get takeout.
Connick: No, no restaurants. I avoid any closed space with a lot of people, particularly when it’s people whose risk I don’t know. I think the biggest risk is being in a closed space and breathing the same air that other people are breathing, and also not wearing masks. I wouldn’t go even if they were wearing masks. I might consider dining outside, although I would rather not. I think being outside is much safer. Takeout, yes. I would die if I didn’t do takeout.
Volberding: I wouldn’t feel comfortable yet with indoor seating, but I’d feel comfortable outside, with distances between the tables. We haven’t gone yet. We’ve gotten takeout a couple of times. We are cooking a ton, and love it.
Bell: I would not dine in a restaurant, but I would dine outside if the restaurant had a safe set up. I do get takeout.
Bloom: I would not dine inside now. I would dine outside. I’m a big believer in outside, that it’s safer outside.
Satcher: I have not dined inside a restaurant in a long time, and I used to do it a lot. I have not dined outside, but I would if I could be six feet away from other people. I do sometimes get takeout.