Are indoor meals still acceptable under the new mask orientation? Here’s What Bay Area Health Experts Say

What exactly do these Bay Area health officials want us to do in restaurants?

San Francisco health manager Dr.Susan Philip said she advises people to be vigilant and mask themselves in indoor restaurants whenever they are near other diners or employees. whose vaccination status is unknown.

“Keep a mask on while you order and when you get up to go to the bathroom,” she said. “We want to encourage people without having to take the drastic step of restricting activity or closing areas.”

Health officials urging universal indoor masking can be found in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sonoma counties. Napa and Solano counties did not join the other seven in recommending a return to masking.

Does that mean it’s always safe to dine inside
?

Health experts agree that indoor meals are not safe for unvaccinated people. If everyone in a restaurant is fully vaccinated, then it’s perfectly safe, said George Rutherford, infectious disease expert at UCSF. The problem is, it’s impossible to know if everyone is vaccinated in a public place, and there are rare cases where a fully vaccinated person can become infected.

“It’s not as bad as it was (months ago), but it’s also not as good as it was two weeks ago,” he said. “We have to find a balance of prudence.”

As with much of the pandemic, whether to dine indoors is a personal decision. Robert Siegel, an infectious disease expert from Stanford, said everyone should ask themselves three questions: What is your risk? What is your level of exposure? And how comfortable are you with this level of risk and exposure?

“The level of risk is changing right now due to the fact that there is a more contagious variant and more viruses in the air,” he said.

Okay, so it’s riskier to dine indoors now than in June. But is it really this risky if I am fully vaccinated and in good health?

No. The risk of you becoming seriously ill is still low, say public experts. The question is: do you want to risk getting sick or passing the virus on to others? Otherwise, mask yourself when you are not eating or drinking.

“It’s an extra layer of protection. Why would anyone want to be infected if they can easily avoid it by wearing a mask? UC Berkeley infectious disease expert John Swartzberg said.

Well, if it’s not that risky for people who have been vaccinated, why is this advice on masks necessary?

This is a precautionary measure intended to ensure that unvaccinated people wear masks and thereby slow the spread of COVID-19, officials say. Most restaurants aren’t equipped to enforce masking on unvaccinated people or even determine a customer’s immunization status.

What if I am a fully vaccinated elderly person or an immunocompromised person?

The vaccine protects the elderly as well as young adults, according to health experts. This is a more difficult calculation for people who are immunocompromised, who may want to be more careful and choose to eat outdoors now.

Should I bring my young children to covered restaurants?

Children under 12 still cannot get the vaccine. While it is highly unlikely that a child will die from COVID-19, it is possible that young children will get sick. Swartzberg recommends avoiding indoor meals at this time.

“If you have a child who cannot be vaccinated, you have to do the kind of things you did before we had the vaccines: be careful,” he said.

I am vaccinated and I do not want to hide
to protect people who refuse to be vaccinated. Why should I bother?

It’s also worth covering up now for purely selfish reasons, according to health experts. This is because vaccines are still not 100% effective.

While you probably don’t get seriously ill, if you’re exposed to someone who is infected there’s a 1 in 20 chance you’ll develop symptoms of COVID-19, Siegel said. So if you are in a crowded 40 seat restaurant where no one is masked, it is possible that a few fully vaccinated people are still infected. This is already happening in restaurants where vaccinated workers test positive and force temporary closures.

“It would be great from a public health standpoint if we instituted more restrictions, but then companies would complain,” Siegel said. “Of all the things you could do that wouldn’t impact the economy, wearing a mask is the easiest.”

What are restaurants doing in response to this new directive?

It’s a mix: some restaurants impose masks on employees and customers, but others don’t make any changes because there is no mandate.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19, Rutherford said it would be helpful for restaurants to have masked staff and require vaccines for employees.

Siegel would like the restaurants to serve only those who have been vaccinated, which is what a small handful of bars and places in the Bay Area do. He acknowledged that this would be an incredibly controversial policy at all levels, but that it could be effective in getting more shots. In France last week, nearly a million people signed up to be vaccinated after the government announced that proof of vaccine would be required at all restaurants and other non-essential places.

“You take out the croissants and that’s enough motivation to vaccinate people,” Siegel said.

Editor Julie Johnson contributed reporting.