RELATED: 60 Percent of Virus Experts Wouldn’t Do These 6 Things Right Now, Data Shows. With COVID cases still relatively high, virus experts say you should continue to be cautious when it comes to eating indoors right now, even if you’re vaccinated. Serhat Gumrukcu, MD, an infectious disease expert and research scientist, told Best Life he still avoids eating indoors at restaurants that appear to have inadequate ventilation, and he’s not alone. “COVID, like other airborne constituents, is more prevalent in poorly circulated air because it has been given the opportunity to accumulate,” explains Andre Lacroix, a certified indoor air specialist and co-founder of air ventilation company EZ Breathe. “Most standard air filters cannot capture and contain the particle size associated with COVID, so unless a specific air cleaner or filter has been installed specifically for this purpose—which is possible, but extremely expensive—ventilation is an excellent starting point.” Gumrukcu says poor ventilation typically results in high humidity levels, which can make it difficult to breathe and even make you dizzy. Another major indicator of poor ventilation is a musty, stuffy smell, according to Conor O’Flynn, a specialist in air circulation, filtration, and purification. “Usually this smell is caused when there is a large number of pollutants in the air that aren’t being pushed out by fresh, clean air,” says O’Flynn, who’s operations manager for O’Flynn Medical. Other signs that a restaurant is not sufficiently ventilated includes mold; stains on the ceiling or walls; peeling paint or wallpaper; and pipe condensation, rust, or corrosion, according to the experts at Enviro-Master. On the other hand, you can also look for signs of good ventilation, which will be obvious to you. “The most obvious sign of a room with good ventilation is spotting an open window that ensures continuous supply of fresh air,” Gumrukcu says. RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. Leann Poston, MD, a licensed physician and medical expert for Impakt Fitness, says that good ventilation can both decrease the number of COVID particles in the air and decrease the number of viral particles that fall out of the air and onto surfaces, “so, even if you are exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, your viral load should be lower.“ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb But there are other factors to consider too, Poston notes. “In addition to ventilation, look at the closeness of the tables and the number of people dining in an enclosed space,” she says. “The more people in an enclosed space, the more important good ventilation should be.” White House chief COVID adviser Anthony Fauci, MD, also recently noted that proper ventilation will be a “key” factor when it comes to avoiding breakthrough infections this fall and winter. “What we should be doing is look at ventilation in indoor places,” he said during an Oct. 3 interview on CBS’s Face the Nation. “We know now that this [virus] is clearly spread by aerosol, and when you have something spread by aerosol, you absolutely want more ventilation, which is the reason why outdoors is always much safer than indoors. And if you are indoors, ventilation is going to be key.” He added that if COVID-19 is spreading in your area, “even if you are vaccinated and you are in an indoor setting, a congregate setting, it just makes sense to wear a mask and to avoid high-risk situations.” RELATED: These 5 States Are Seeing the Worst COVID Surges Right Now.
