Buzz
To adapt during the pandemic, restaurants have innovated with takeout services and open-air dining, ensuring we continue to enjoy meals despite the challenges. However, as temperatures drop, some establishments are offering “outdoor” dining inside plastic tents, greenhouses, or bubbles. Let’s be clear—this setup doesn’t qualify as true outdoor dining.
What makes outdoor dining the preferable option?
The primary mode of COVID-19 transmission is through respiratory droplets. While larger droplets fall to the ground quickly, justifying the six-foot distancing rule, smaller airborne particles—known as aerosols—can also carry the virus and are likely contributors to super-spreader incidents.
Outdoor dining interrupts transmission through several mechanisms:
Ventilation is key: breezes carry airborne droplets away from individuals.
Droplets disperse and become diluted over distance.
Sunlight can potentially deactivate the coronavirus, particularly on surfaces.
Outdoor environments naturally facilitate easier social distancing.
Contrast a restaurant’s indoor seating with its outdoor tables. Rather than being confined indoors surrounded by others’ respiratory droplets, you’re in an open space where breezes disperse droplets, sunlight neutralizes lingering ones, and you’re ideally seated at least six feet from the nearest table.
Tents fail to address most of these advantages
What about dining in a tent? The sole benefit is the barrier separating you from adjacent diners. However, the drawbacks are considerable: no airflow, no dilution of air, and if tables are closer together than they would be without the tent, you’re more likely to encounter others while entering or exiting.
Although the CDC doesn’t specifically address tents, they provide guidelines for restaurants. These include: “Ensure ventilation systems function correctly and maximize outdoor air circulation, such as by opening windows and doors and prioritizing outdoor seating.” Additionally: “Avoid sharing items that are hard to clean, sanitize, or disinfect.”
An enclosed tent lacks proper ventilation and is challenging to sanitize. Consider how often customers and staff touch the entrance of these small greenhouses. While it might be slightly safer than being packed into an indoor dining area, the difference is minimal.
You’re not isolated
Some argue that dining in tents is acceptable because you’re only sharing the space with family or close friends—people you’ve already chosen to be around. However, this overlooks the risks to others.
But you’re never truly alone in that tent. Servers must enter and exit, interacting with multiple tents. Even if the setup feels safe for you, it poses a risk to the staff who must breathe in the stagnant, droplet-filled air from multiple households while simply doing their jobs.
There’s also a chance you’re inhaling droplets left behind by the previous diners. If the tent or greenhouse is sealed, where do you think those droplets end up? Some may settle on the floor, tables, or other surfaces, while many could remain suspended in the air. (Opening the tent on multiple sides and airing it out between groups might slightly improve safety, but I’d still avoid dining in one.)
Opt for takeout instead
I understand adapting to new circumstances is challenging, and we all crave small glimpses of normalcy, like dining out with friends. However, you can still enjoy meals with others and support local restaurants without enduring the cold: Simply order takeout, tip generously, and enjoy your meal at home.
