An infectious disease expert in Toronto, Canada is warning that allowing an increase in people dining indoors during the third wave of COVID could trigger super-spreader events.
The medical director of the Sinai Health System-University Health Network’s antimicrobial program, Dr. Andrew Morris, told the Canadian Press that the Ontario government’s move to loosen restrictions on indoor dining amid the start of the third wave was “baffling.”
“Super-spreading events occur when there's somebody who everyone else does not suspect is infected and contagious, but in fact they are, and they're in the presence of many other people," he said. "And that's what opening up this dining will do."
He added that "in the midst of a wave, you're increasing dramatically the likelihood that those events are going to occur."
He said that the change will cause public health systems further capacity issues.
This weekend restaurants serving food and drinks located in provincial “red zones” were given the okay to increase their maximum occupancy from 10 to 50 people. Restaurants in “orange zones” will be able to serve a maximum of 100 people, up from 50.