Outdoor Dining Bubbles: Is It Safe? Here's What You Need To Know

The virus may be less accessible to outdoor plastic bubbles and other enclosures; however, the set-up might not be much safer than dining indoors.

Since the pandemic started, the United States has reached the highest regular count of novel coronavirus infections. The rise in statistics put the nation on the brink of what might be its worst phase in the pandemic thus far. In the West and Midwest, several facilities have been overwhelmed, and fatalities have started to increase.

During the coronavirus pandemic, outdoor dining was becoming increasingly popular, but researchers reported that certain structures set up to keep diners warm and comfortable in colder weather are not very protected.

Gregg Gonsalves, Ph.D., an assistant instructor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health in New Haven, Connecticut, explained, "If you're putting together something that has a roof and four walls outside, it is called an indoor enclosure outside."

Risks of outdoor bubbles

The same problem as dining indoors is the greatest challenge with an enclosed outdoor set-up: you might be close to someone without ventilation, which might also contribute to the transmission of coronavirus.

"I think it's a very similar problem to indoor dining," the associate chief medical officer at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Colleen Kraft, stated. "A lot of these plastic bubbles are possibly more porous than a wall, so maybe more air can circulate, but they are not going to be as safe as a open-air set up where a breeze can flow, and there's lots of air exchange," she added.

Just because you're in an individual enclosure, Kraft suggests wearing a mask to and from your chair, and Gonsalves advises restaurants open the door to personal outdoor bubbles before settling a new group.

As the USA records its second-highest day of new COVID-19 infections, the previous FDA commissioner believes it is appropriate for a national mask mandate. As large gatherings keep taking place, the coronavirus pandemic indicates no signs of slowing down in the state.

Whereas small outdoor bubbles could be safer, ventilation is still constrained and can result in increased transmission.

Some safer alternatives

Whenever it gets chilly, whether they want to keep dining outdoors, it will be essential for restaurants to try and keep guests warm. Indoor dining is currently permitted by most states in the country, although some places are again restricting indoor dining caused by an increase in hospital admissions and reports of coronavirus.

Gonsalves mentioned that it could be protected and still have a considerable amount of ventilation for outdoor structures that have only one or two walls to block wind or even other elements.

According to Gonsalves, there is no coronavirus threat caused by heating devices such as space heaters or even fireplaces, and it can help to look at other areas for innovative ways to keep diners warm.