"Frequent Dining Out Increases Risk of COVID-19 Infection"

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] A survey has found that the risk of contracting COVID-19 is higher from dining out than from shopping or going to a hair salon.

On the 10th (local time), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that a survey of 314 symptomatic COVID-19 patients showed that those who tested positive dined out about twice as often as those who tested negative.

Local media reported, citing the CDC survey, that among infections with unknown transmission routes, individuals had visited bars or coffee shops more frequently over the past two weeks.

The survey participants were selected from various regions with differing social distancing policies, including California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Minnesota. The participants were evenly divided into a group that tested positive and a control group that tested negative.

Todd Rice, Associate Professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and co-author of the report, stated that it is a reasonable conclusion that the risk of infection is higher in restaurants because people can wear masks in stores or places of worship, but cannot wear masks while eating in restaurants.

He also added that when people go to restaurants, the risk of infection increases because they eat at close distances to others depending on the table arrangement.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.