Abstract
Since mask use and physical distancing are difficult to maintain when people dine indoors, restaurants are perceived as high risk for acquiring COVID-19. The air and environmental surfaces in two restaurants in a mid-scale city located in north central Florida that followed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reopening guidance were sampled three times from July 2020 to February 2021. Sixteen air samples were collected for 2 hours using air samplers, and 20 surface samples by using moistened swabs. The samples were analyzed by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 genomic RNA. A total of ~550 patrons dined in the restaurants during our samplings. SARS-CoV-2 genomic RNA was not detected in any of the air samples. One of the 20 surface samples (5%) was positive. That sample had been collected from a plastic tablecloth immediately after guests left the restaurant. Virus was not isolated in cell cultures inoculated with aliquots of the RT-PCR-positive sample. The likelihood that patrons and staff acquire SARS-CoV-2 infections may be low in restaurants in a mid-scale city that adopt CDC restaurant reopening guidelines, such as operation at 50% capacity so that tables can be spaced at least 6 feet apart, establishment of adequate mechanical ventilation, use of a face covering except while eating or drinking, and implementation of disinfection measures.
Highlights
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic
There was no cytopathic effect induced by the positive surface sample on cell culture, and vgRNA was not detected in the cultures by rRT-qPCR
The adopted Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reopening guidance and the low active rates may both contribute to the low positive samples in the present study, and that may be the condition commonly encountered in a mid-scale city
Summary
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. It can be shed by infected individuals including those that are pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic as they breath, speak, cough, or sing (Ma et al, 2021; Pan et al, 2020). Various epidemiological studies traced COVID-19 outbreaks to dining in restaurants during the early pandemic. Ten infected persons within three different clusters had indirect contact with an index case when they dined in a restaurant in Guangzhou, China, on January 24, 2020 (Li et al, 2020).
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