According to a statement issued by French researchers on Thursday, spending time in a bar or restaurant increases the exposure to Covid-19, while having guests over for dinner also plays a key role in transmission.
The latest study adds to evidence that socialising and eating out are much more dangerous than other activities like using conveyance or shopping.
As Europe and the United States are already struggling with the increase in number of infection rates, and the start of a holiday season is normally characterised by parties and family get-togethers, chances of surge in the number of Covid cases are very high.
Researchers from France’s Institute Pasteur sought to find out which factors were responsible for the infection. They differentiated participants who had contracted the virus from people who had not.
“We saw an increased risk related to frequenting bars and restaurants,” said the lead author, Arnaud Fontanet, an epidemiologist and member of the scientific council guiding the govt .
The study, called ComCor, has not been peer reviewed.
It was carried out in October and November, during the initial days of curfew.
Fontanet told AFP that because bars and restaurants aren’t functioning as normal, it had been difficult to measure their exact role in transmission, and acknowledged that closing these businesses was a “sensitive” move.
French cafes and restaurants have remained closed even after nationwide restrictions were eased earlier in the week .
ComCor researchers interviewed 3,400 people infected with Covid-19 and 1,700 others who didn’t have the virus.
According to them they found that frequenting restaurants, bars or gyms was associated with an increased risk of infection, whereas using public transport and visiting shops were not.
– ‘Friendly dinners’ –
Health authorities across the planet have advised people to avoid crowded indoor spaces as scientists increasingly agree that the new coronavirus can travel in fine clouds of particles referred to as aerosols that can collect in poorly ventilated rooms.
A September survey by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that adults with positive coronavirus test results were about twice as likely to report having eaten at a restaurant within the previous fortnight than those with negative results.
In November, a study within the journal Nature found that restaurants, gyms and cafes account for many Covid-19 infections within the us .
Using mobile data from 98 million people, researchers found about 10 percent of venues accounted for quite 80 percent of cases.
The ComCor research also tried to pinpoint different circumstances of infection, with surveys of 25,600 infected individuals using insurance data.
It showed that “meals play a central role in these contaminations”, as people sat on the brink of one another without masks.
“Private meetings — families, friends — are the most source of infection,” Fontanet said.
“If people have friendly dinners at their homes instead of getting to a restaurant, it doesn’t make a difference.”
The researchers stressed the importance of organising such gatherings in “the safest way possible” to guard vulnerable people over the vacations .
