Reviewed by Jesse Sutton, PharmD, VA Salt Lake City Health Care System
A case-control study from 11 Unites States health centers reported that symptomatic outpatients with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test (cases) were approximately twice as likely to have reported dining at a restaurant or going to a bar/coffee shop compared to symptomatic outpatients with negative SARS-CoV-2 test results (controls) (adjust odds ratio 2.4. 95% CI 1.5 – 3.8). Among those dining at a restaurant or going to a bar/coffee shop, cases were less likely to report all patrons wearing a mask or social distancing. The study used logistic regression to adjust for other SARS-CoV-2 risks but has limitations including recall bias as participants were surveyed after being informed of test results and limited granularity in exposure definitions. Nonetheless, the results are likely to impact reopening plans and consistent with other reports highlighting community and close contact exposures contribute to the spread of SARS-CoV-2.
Reference:
Fisher KA, Tenforde MW, Feldstein LR, et al. Community and Close Contact Exposures Associated with COVID-19 Among Symptomatic Adults ≥18 Years in 11 Outpatient Health Care Facilities — United States, July 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69:1258–1264. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6936a5external icon.