1/ Q: Restaurants in my city are reopening for outdoor dining. Is that safe?
A: It's probably safe for you as a diner. But also consider if it's safe for kitchen crew and wait staff.
2/ After restaurants resumed outdoor/sidewalk service in Philly, Nerdy Girl @abuttenheim was interviewed by a local magazine about the safety of outdoor dining: phillymag.com/foobooz/2020/0…
Here's a summary of what she said:
3/ First, if your primary concern is your own individual risk of contracting #COVID19, outdoor dining is definitely better than being indoors. Tables will be spaced 6'+ apart, and wait staff will be #masked. Restaurants will be following new hygiene protocols. All good!
4/
On the other hand, you will obviously not be masked while you eat. You'll be exposed to people nearby, especially during longer meals.
Here's where you have to rely on your Spidey Sense and your own risk tolerance to assess whether any particular setting feels ok or not.
5/
🧼 As we've said in many other posts about surfaces and take-out food: Rigorous, frequent #handwashing or hand sanitizing is your best defense here. #COVID19 is not foodborne, so you don't have to worry about contaminated food.
6/
🧂Restaurants will be following detailed guidelines about wiping down tables and chairs between parties, eliminating "presets" on the table, using disposable paper menus or chalkboards instead of reusable menus, and adding extra cleaning to high-touch surfaces and bathrooms.
7/ Like us, you might be worried about the safety of wait staff and kitchen crew. Wait staff are exposed to unmasked customers and the kitchen crew is likely working in tight quarters in a damp kitchen.
It's ok to ask the manager or owner about their policies on worker safety:
8/ What might those be? 3 things restaurants can do:
* Schedule staff in fixed crews that don't mix.
* Provide multiple clean dry masks per shift
* Encourage & enable workers to stay home if sick without risking their paycheck and job.
9/ Finally, remember that YOU might be a disease vector! Many folks across the country have been at large protests in the past few weeks.
If you might have been exposed, or are not feeling well, please quarantine for 2 weeks and/or get tested before hitting your favorite place.
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1/ Q: Has almost everyone been infected with COVID by now?
A: Recent estimates suggest around 58% of the population in the US and over 70% in England have been previously infected, with BIG increases during the Omicron wave.
3/ ➡️ During the Omicron wave from December 2021-February 2022, this estimate increased from 33% to 58%.
➡️ Rates vary a lot by age, ranging from 33.2% for those over age 65 to 75% for those under age 18.
2/ Not likely. If your kids are suddenly getting sick a lot, this is likely due to “catching up” on exposures rather than a weakened immune system.
3/ Many families w/ young kids have been hunkered down for the better part of 2 years– a good % of a young child’s entire life. While isolation had *many* downsides, we can agree that not having to suction snot out of infant noses or clean up norovirus puke was a happy upside.
1/ Q: Are cases peaking? That means it’s all downhill from here, right?
A: Sort of…. Remember that even if cases come down as quickly as they rise, there will be as many cases *after* the peak as before (think area under the curve).
2/ ➡️ And if the downward slope is *slower* than the rise, we will see *more* cases during the decline from a surge.
3/ Burning fast could be a silver lining of super transmissible #Omicron. Cases rose & fell quickly in S. Africa (w/ hospitalizations & deaths still lagging). The UK appears to have turned the Omicron corner. Many US states appear past their peak in cases, w/ regional variation:
Unfortunately, this includes New Year’s Eve plans. The perfect storm of a new variant & holiday get-togethers is hitting communities & health care w/ FORCE! Testing is in short supply.
3/ Health care is under extreme pressure with surging cases. If you can avoid even one additional contact, you are helping. This is a temporary and urgent request (from a health care provider).