Santa Clara County, CA – Consistent with the County’s Risk Reduction Health Order issued on July 2 and which went into effect on July 13, indoor dining is a riskier activity given the present level of COVID-19 infections and the nature of indoor dining as an activity that inherently requires removal of face coverings indoors.
Even though the County’s move into the Red Risk Tier is an improvement, under this tier, the presence of COVID-19 in the County is still “substantial.” We want restaurants to be able to open for indoor dining as soon as it is safe for the public.
One critical lesson we learned about COVID-19 is that outdoors gatherings are safer than indoor gatherings. We have also learned that face coverings play a critical role in preventing the spread of COVID-19. Indoor activities where members of the public are not wearing a face covering thus create a significantly higher risk of spreading COVID-19. Indoor dining necessarily involves removal of face coverings indoors which makes it higher risk.
A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control confirms that eating out is one of the riskiest activities for COVID-19 and according to the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report adults with COVID-19 are twice as likely to have dined out in the 14 days before becoming sick than those who tested negative.
We urge the public to support our restaurants by using restaurant takeout, delivery options, and outdoor dining. Pursuant to the Risk Reduction Health Order, we urge our residents to continue to avoid indoor activities whenever possible to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
