The Majority of Americans Are Comfortable Dining Indoors As COVID-19 Vaccinations Rise, According to New Poll
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Most Americans are ready to indoors again.
According to a new poll from Morning Consult, a global data intelligence company that has tracked how the public has been responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 57 percent of Americans now say they feel comfortable eating inside of a restaurant.
However, the survey still showed that more Americans are comfortable with eating outdoors, with 68 percent of the 2,200 surveyed weekly saying they would rather dine al fresco.
Throughout the pandemic, restaurants have had to adapt their business models to incorporate take-out and delivery options to stay afloat. According to the Morning Consult poll, ⅓ of Americans are most comfortable with delivery, while 42 percent prefer take-out.
Even though the public comfort level on dining indoors has increased, the CDC is still warning individuals to follow guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19. According to a study published by the federal agency in March, mask mandates and restrictions on restaurants reduced the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the U.S.
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CDC researchers looked at the COVID-19 trends before and after counties in the U.S. implemented mask mandates and made changes to the number of people allowed inside restaurants between March 2020 and December. In areas that required masks, the daily growth rate of COVID-19 cases went down by 1.8 percent in the first 100 days, and deaths declined by 1.9 percent.
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Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is fully vaccinated, also recently said he is personally cautious with indoor dining and traveling in an interview with Business Insider.
"I don't think I would — even if I'm vaccinated — go into an indoor, crowded place where people are not wearing masks," Fauci told the publication.
As of April 15, more than 76.7 million Americans had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and nearly every state is allowing anyone aged 16 and up to get their doses.
Fauci has still warned that Americans need to have patience to ensure the return to normal is as safe as possible.
"It's kind of a race between the vaccine and the possibility that there'll be another surge," Fauci said.
On April 27, the CDC released new guidelines stating that fully vaccinated Americans can go outdoors in small social gatherings without masks.
Once people have received all doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and waited the two weeks to reach fully efficacy, they can safely go walking, running, hiking or biking outdoors without a mask; attend small outdoor gatherings with vaccinated or unvaccinated people and dine outdoors with people from multiple households, the health agency said.
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