Tiffany Harris, associate professor of epidemiology, speaks to NPR on Oct 2 about safety concerns surrounding eating in plastic domes during pandemic. Professor Harris explains while people are dining with friends who aren’t a part of their immediate household, wind acts as a buffer to disperse any infectious viral particles, lowering the risk of transmission. But sitting in a bubble effectively erects “artificial walls,” doing the opposite — i.e. allowing viral particles to linger in the air. That’s not all. Even though restaurants say they’re taking care to sanitize the bubbles after every use, Harris still has worries:
“I have concerns about everything being cleaned properly and how often cleaning is happening — especially given that we don’t understand everything about COVID sterilization.”
