Many restaurants are constructing outdoor dining tents this fall amid pandemic-related restrictions on indoor dining. The tents are meant to keep diners warm and increase capacity, while still following safety measures. However, some health experts are questioning the safety of these tents, especially those that are more enclosed, reports Bloomberg.
"Some of them are clearly not safe" Dr. Jack Caravanos, a clinical professor at New York University's School of Global Public Health in New York City, told the publication. "It is sort of the Wild West out there with the creation of these structures."
Dr. Caravanos said he's concerned about the growing popularity of enclosed dining spaces and cited one one being built near NYU that "literally looks like a huge outdoor restaurant made of plywood."
Linsey Marr, PhD, an aerosol scientist at Blacksburg-based Virginia Tech and leading expert in airborne disease transmission, said the tents are likely safer than eating at a restaurant indoors but not as safe as full-on outdoor dining. People should still follow all indoor safety protocols in the dining tents, such as maintaining social distance and wearing masks when not eating, Dr. Marr said.
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