- New research questions if bars can mitigate COVID-19 transmission risks properly.
- Despite the efforts of bar operators and guidance from the government, potentially significant risks of transmission of the coronavirus persists in bars, especially when customers are intoxicated.
- Experts say alcohol seems to be one of the major factors fueling this risk because it lowers inhibitions, making people less willing to comply with safety protocols.
Throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone has had to assess risk. It’s become a part of “normal” life.
What is a safer activity to engage in than others? How can one socialize safely while still adhering to protective measures such as wearing masks and physical or socially distancing? These are the questions we constantly debate internally, weighing how we can safely adapt to our current circumstances while keeping the safety of ourselves and others in mind.
These questions most acutely apply to ways we socialize.
Debates over the safety of dining out at and patronizing bars and restaurants have been at the center of these discussions.
It’s been a hot button issue, prompting caution from health experts while drawing the ire and concern of business owners who have been hit hard by the health crisis and offered little to no financial support to adjust to the changes the pandemic has brought about.
Source: healthline