San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Health experts wary of indoor dining
Despite indoor dining expanding across the Bay Area and several counties in or about to enter the orange tier, local infectious disease experts still warn that the activity presents some risk for even fully vaccinated people. One expert said he was even more concerned now than when indoor dining first started opening in early March.
The Chronicle recently interviewed three health experts about the risk levels for vaccinated people interested in indoor dining. While they didn’t agree on every detail, they all warned that indoor dining may not be worth the risk for some vaccinated people, particularly those who are older with preexisting health conditions — it’s possible vaccinated people still could get sick or transmit the virus to others.
Now, the same health experts say that despite more restaurants reopening and shots getting into arms, they recommend being just as cautious or even more cautious about indoor dining. That’s because the coronavirus is still circulating in the Bay Area along with more contagious variants, leading some experts to warn about a potential fourth surge. Meanwhile, California Department of Public Health data found that restaurants accounted for 7% of the state’s coronavirus outbreaks so far in 2021, the second most common setting behind residential care facilities.
“No one should be dining indoors, vaccinated or not, right now,” said John Swartzberg, UC Berkeley infectious disease expert, by email. “Spending a prolonged period of time indoors with a bunch of strangers with everyone talking loudly is a perfect way to spread this virus.”
Swartzberg said he feels more strongly about the dangers of indoor dining now because of worrisome variants — B.1.1.7, which was first reported in the United Kingdom, is spreading quickly in California. It’s believed to be 50% more transmissible and potentially 30% to 70% more deadly. Meanwhile, other variants — B1.351, first discovered in South Africa, and P.1, which led to a dramatic surge in Brazil — are alarming because they’re somewhat resistant to antibodies produced by vaccines or natural infection. Four cases of B1.351 have been found in the Bay Area, while P.1 was detected in the Bay Area for the first time this week.
While cases are declining in the Bay Area, they’ve started rising in 21 other states, causing health experts to warn against easing safety measures too quickly. Swartzberg also pointed to the sharp rise in cases in Western Europe, where several countries have introduced new lockdowns in recent days. Poland’s rate of new COVID19 cases has more than doubled since February.
Stanford University health expert Robert Siegel said he hopes people will weigh not only the risks and benefits of indoor dining but also consider their age, personal risk factors, the prevalence of the disease in the community and how the chosen restaurant is set up in terms of table placement and ventilation.
“Importantly, I do not believe we should base our decisions entirely on what color tier we are in,” he said by email. “If the virus had a choice in this matter, it would say ‘Open everything up, NOW.’ ”