Is it safe to eat outside the home during a pandemic?

Eating outside the home during the COVID-19 pandemic

At a time when the number of COVID-19 cases is starting to increase dramatically, the luxury of eating out is starting to become a rare sight. How not, areas that are seriously affected by COVID-19 urge restaurant owners not to accept customers who eat there.

Actually, even eating at a restaurant is not an urgent need, so it would be nice to stay at home to avoid spreading the virus. What's more, nowadays most restaurants provide food delivery services to their loyal customers.

As time went on, the government finally began to loosen the rules and allowed a number of restaurants to receive customers to eat there again. In some areas in Indonesia with not so high case rates, they still receive food on the spot.

Some people feel that eating outside of the home during COVID-19 is still safe if they follow preventive procedures and maintain personal hygiene.

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According to dr. Robert W. Amler, dean of New York Medical College told the New York Times there are several things to consider when eating out as follows.

1. Knowing your own risk

When you want to eat outside in the midst of COVID-19, the first thing you need to do is check your health and know your own risks.

You see, COVID-19 can affect anyone and this respiratory disease can cause a variety of symptoms. They can range from mild to severe and don't even show symptoms at all, but the viral infection can still spread to other people.

Anyone who falls into the high-risk category reported by the CDC certainly needs to be more careful when eating out. This advice applies especially to the elderly.

Therefore, before deciding to eat at a restaurant, you should first get to know your own body. Are you in the group at risk of developing severe symptoms when exposed to COVID-19 or have had direct contact with positive patients?

If so, temporarily refraining from eating out can be a good option to reduce the risk of transmission to yourself or household members.

2. See the state of the restaurant first

If you are determined to keep eating out during the COVID-19 pandemic, try to check the state of the restaurant first. Whether the staff and the cleanliness of the dining area at the dining place are according to protocol or not.

Actually, you can ask this before stepping out of the house. You can contact the restaurant you want to visit via social media or telephone. Whether it's about application physical distancing or the use of masks by restaurant employees.

BPOM Indonesia has issued general guidelines that can be followed by food vendors. Starting from ensuring the cleanliness of the place to eat to seeing food safety in restaurants.

If you are already outside, you can immediately check the state of the restaurant. Starting from the distance of the table until there is a space of about 1-2 meters between customers it needs to be seen. If it's too crowded, discouraging or choosing another place to eat seems better.

The reason is, crowding the crowd at the entrance or inside the restaurant can cause you to have more direct contact with other people. This can actually increase the spread of the virus because it cannot give each other a distance.

Eating outside the home during the COVID-19 pandemic has many considerations. However, one of the most important things is to see the crowds going on at the restaurant where you want to eat.

3. Choose an outdoor table

The restaurant's condition has been checked and everything looks fine, you may start to feel safe eating outside during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it would be nice to choose an outdoor table.

You see, according to research from the CDC showing that air conditioning can increase the risk of spreading COVID-19. The study showed that a woman in China ate at a restaurant a few days before she showed symptoms.

Then, the virus in his body infected four to five other people. This can happen because the air conditioner behind the woman is helping it spread droplet (saliva).

So that this risk can be reduced when eating outside the home, you should choose a table outside. This will give you plenty of space and allow you to keep your distance from other customers.

4. Keep using a mask

Appeals to use masks while traveling, including eating outside the home amid COVID-19, are important things to do. Both you and restaurant employees are encouraged to wear masks in an effort to prevent transmission of COVID-19.

Apart from maintaining cleanliness by washing hands regularly and maintaining a distance, the use of masks is needed to reduce the spread of the virus passing by droplet . However, the main problem is that using a mask when eating is a challenge.

Most restaurants will probably ask visitors to come with a mask and take it off briefly to eat and drink. Then, they will put it back on while talking.

Therefore, masks are now no longer an additional accessory, but part of a necessity when traveling outside the home, especially eating at restaurants.

5. Do not linger

It used to be that chatting with friends or family in restaurants while eating at restaurants was a common thing. However, eating outside during the COVID-19 pandemic should not be done for too long.

The longer you are in the place to eat, the greater the potential for virus transmission to occur. You may be able to relax for a while watching people walk by, finish their food, and return home.

Eating outside the home during the COVID-19 pandemic may not be an urgent condition like going to the office or seeing a doctor. There are many things to consider when dining at a restaurant. Don't forget to keep your hands clean when outside by washing your hands and being careful about what other people touch.