With restaurants and businesses open in the Minooka area, there comes the question if it is truly safe to eat out.

According to the Illinois Restaurant Association, restaurants have to have 25 percent of their capacity filled as the maximum. There are other guidelines such as making sure that the people eating are spread out and limiting the amount of people in a party to six.

 Even if restaurants follow all of these guidelines there is still the possibility that carries of the virus can enter the restaurant. These places can control what they do, but not customers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated, “COVID-19 is mostly spread by respiratory droplets released when people talk, cough, or sneeze. It is thought that the virus may spread to hands from a contaminated surface and then to the nose or mouth, causing infection.”

Since the virus spreads through respiratory droplets, it is important to make sure that you take the precautions and wear your mask. It isn’t just for your safety, but for others who may have weak immune systems where COVID-19 could be life threatening.

The CDC states that eating at a dining room with capacity minimized and dining tables six feet apart is moderate risk.

It is understandable that people are tired of being cooped up in their homes to want to continue with their normal life. Going anywhere is still taking a risk; but, some of those risks are necessities like food and other home necessities. 

Before you go out to restaurants, make sure that you take the safety precautions and that you have no symptoms of the virus and haven’t been in recent contact with anyone who tested positive. This is not only for your safety, but for others in your community.