Investigating the epidemiological and economic effects of a third-party certification policy for restaurants with COVID-19 prevention measures.

This study investigates the effects of a third-party certification policy for restaurants (including bars) that comply with indoor infection-prevention measures on COVID-19 cases and economic activities. We focus on the case of Yamanashi Prefecture in Japan, which introduced a third-party certification policy that accredits facilities, predominantly restaurants, that comply with the designated guidelines. We employ a difference-in-differences design for each of our epidemiological and economic analyses. The estimation results show that, from July 2020 to April 2021, the certification policy reduced the total number of new infection cases by approximately 45.3% (848 cases), while increasing total sales and the number of customers per restaurant by approximately 12.8% (3.21 million Japanese yen or $30,000) and 30.3% (2909 customers), respectively, compared to the non-intervention scenarios. The results suggest that a third-party certification policy can be an effective policy to mitigate the trade-off between economic activities and infection prevention during a pandemic, especially when effective vaccines are not widely available.

Exploring restaurant and customer needs, barriers, interests, and food choices induced by the COVID-19 pandemic in Tarragona Province (Catalonia, Spain): A cross-sectional study.

Background: COVID-19 has harmed restaurants, but customer preferences remain unknown. This study aims to determine the needs, barriers, interests, and food choice changes in restaurants and customers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Tarragona Province (Spain). Methods: An observational cross-sectional study conducted in spring 2021 collected Mediterranean offerings, food safety, and hygiene information about the pandemic through online surveys and focus group interviews with restaurateurs and customers about the changes in their needs and new barriers. Results: Fifty-one restaurateurs (44 survey, 7 focus group) and 138 customers (132 survey, 6 focus group) were included. In relation to the economic, emotional, and uncertainty restaurateurs' barriers detected, they implemented measures to tackle it: buy less and more often, reduce restaurant staff and reduce the restaurants offer, among others. Some customers reported changes in their restaurant orders, specifically increasing their takeaway orders. The Mediterranean diet offer (AMed criteria) remained without noticeable changes in any of the criteria. After lockdown, compared to before lockdown, restaurateurs increased their takeaway offerings by 34.1% (p < 0.001) and their use of digital menus by 27.3% (p < 0.001) because of customer demand. The use of local products in the menus remained high. The cleaning and disinfection tasks increased by 21.1% (p = 0.022), and the use of hydroalcoholic solutions increased by 13.7% (p = 0.031). Conclusion: In restaurants, the first COVID-19 lockdown increased takeaway orders, sanitation, and digital communication. This study provides valuable information for adapting gastronomic offerings during challenging situations.

Environmental assessment of casual dining restaurants in urban and suburban areas of peninsular Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Food waste has been considered a global problem due to its adverse impacts on food security, the environment, and the economy; hence needs urgent attention and action. Its generation is expected to increase as the world population grows rapidly, leading to more global waste. This study sought the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on the 1-week operation of selected casual dining restaurants in urban (Ampang, Kuala Lumpur) and suburban areas (Kota Bharu, Kelantan and Jasin, Melaka) of Peninsular Malaysia, as the local community adjusted to life with COVID-19. The food waste in this study was classified into three categories: preparation loss, serving loss, and customer's plate waste. Our material flow analysis revealed that the highest food loss at these locations came from preparation loss (51.37%), followed by serving loss (30.95%), and preparation loss (17.8%). Meanwhile, the total average electricity consumption and its carbon footprint for Ampang were 127 kWh and 13.87 kgCO2e, Kota Bharu 269.8 kWh and 29.47 kgCO2e, and Jasin 142.2 kWh and 15.54 kgCO2e, respectively. As for water, Ampang exhibited 22.93 m3 total average consumption and 7.91 kgCO2e greenhouse emissions from this source, Jasin consuming 17.11 m3 of water and releasing 5.88 kgCO2e of carbon footprint, while Kota Bharu emitted 20.21 kgCO2e of greenhouse gases from its 58.71 m3 water consumption. Our findings indicate a major 'food leak' at the preparation stage, from which the waste could be utilised as livestock feed, and that electricity consumption is a greater carbon emitter than water consumption, suggesting a need for improvement to the kitchen practices and equipment.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Public Interest in the Energy Labelling on Restaurant Menus.

No study has investigated the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the public's interest in using energy labelling on restaurant menus. This study explores the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the public interest in using energy labelling on restaurant menus and meal delivery applications and the impact of energy-labelling availability on food choices during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. An online questionnaire was completed by 1657 participants aged ≥ 18 years. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 32% of customers visited a restaurant 2-4 times/week. However, during the pandemic, 35% of customers visited a restaurant only once per week. There was no difference in interest in reading energy labelling or using meal delivery applications before and during the pandemic. During the COVID-19 pandemic, about 55% of restaurant customers reported that they had noticed energy labelling, with 42% of them being influenced by the energy-labelling information. Regarding energy information on food delivery applications, 40% of customers noticed energy labelling when using the applications, with 33% of them being affected by the energy labelling. Customer interest in reading about energy on restaurant menus during the pandemic did not change significantly from the level of interest before the pandemic. The interest expressed by the public in using the energy labelling was low both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sodium Reduction in Restaurant Food: A Randomized Controlled Trial in China.

Restaurant food is one of the important sources of sodium intake in China. We aimed to determine whether a restaurant-based comprehensive intervention program may induce lower sodium content in restaurant food. A randomized controlled trial was implemented between 2019 and 2020 in 192 restaurants in China. After baseline assessment, the restaurants were randomly assigned to either an intervention or a control group (1:1). Comprehensive activities designed for intervention restaurants were conducted for one year. The primary outcome was the difference in change of sodium content estimated by the mean values of five best-selling dishes for each restaurant, from baseline to the end of the trial between groups. In total, 66 control restaurants and 80 intervention restaurants completed the follow-up assessment. The average sodium content of dishes at baseline was 540.9 ± 176.8 mg/100 g in control and 551.9 ± 149.0 mg/100 g in intervention restaurants. The mean effect of intervention after adjusting for confounding factors was -43.63 mg/100 g (95% CI: from -92.94 to 5.66, p = 0.08), representing an 8% reduction in sodium content. The restaurant-based intervention led to a modest but not significant reduction in the sodium content of restaurant food. There is great urgency for implementing effective and sustainable salt reduction programs, due to the rapid increase in the consumption of restaurant food in China.

Self-restraint, subsidy, and stock market reactions to the coronavirus outbreak: Evidence from the Japanese restaurant industry.

This study examined the stock market response of the Japanese restaurant industry to the announcement of the self-restraint request and subsidy for restaurants by the Japanese government during the coronavirus outbreak. Using the event study approach, it was found that the market reacted negatively to the self-restraint request and positively to the subsidy for restaurants. Following the announcement of the self-restraint request, investors in the restaurant industry responded positively to the government's stringent policy responses. Conversely, following the announcement on the "dining-out" subsidy, investors reacted negatively to the stringent government policies. Our findings provide useful information for policy makers and practitioners to mitigate losses in the hospitality industry during the pandemic.

The Causality Inference of Public Interest in Restaurants and Bars on Daily COVID-19 Cases in the United States: Google Trends Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected virtually every region in the world. At the time of this study, the number of daily new cases in the United States was greater than that in any other country, and the trend was increasing in most states. Google Trends provides data regarding public interest in various topics during different periods. Analyzing these trends using data mining methods may provide useful insights and observations regarding the COVID-19 outbreak. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to consider the predictive ability of different search terms not directly related to COVID-19 with regard to the increase of daily cases in the United States. In particular, we are concerned with searches related to dine-in restaurants and bars. Data were obtained from the Google Trends application programming interface and the COVID-19 Tracking Project. METHODS: To test the causation of one time series on another, we used the Granger causality test. We considered the causation of two different search query trends related to dine-in restaurants and bars on daily positive cases in the US states and territories with the 10 highest and 10 lowest numbers of daily new cases of COVID-19. In addition, we used Pearson correlations to measure the linear relationships between different trends. RESULTS: Our results showed that for states and territories with higher numbers of daily cases, the historical trends in search queries related to bars and restaurants, which mainly occurred after reopening, significantly affected the number of daily new cases on average. California, for example, showed the most searches for restaurants on June 7, 2020; this affected the number of new cases within two weeks after the peak, with a P value of .004 for the Granger causality test. CONCLUSIONS: Although a limited number of search queries were considered, Google search trends for restaurants and bars showed a significant effect on daily new cases in US states and territories with higher numbers of daily new cases. We showed that these influential search trends can be used to provide additional information for prediction tasks regarding new cases in each region. These predictions can help health care leaders manage and control the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on society and prepare for its outcomes.

Combining Phi6 as a surrogate virus and computational large-eddy simulations to study airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in a restaurant.

COVID-19 has highlighted the need for indoor risk-reduction strategies. Our aim is to provide information about the virus dispersion and attempts to reduce the infection risk. Indoor transmission was studied simulating a dining situation in a restaurant. Aerosolized Phi6 viruses were detected with several methods. The aerosol dispersion was modeled by using the Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) technique. Three risk-reduction strategies were studied: (1) augmenting ventilation with air purifiers, (2) spatial partitioning with dividers, and (3) combination of 1 and 2. In all simulations infectious viruses were detected throughout the space proving the existence long-distance aerosol transmission indoors. Experimental cumulative virus numbers and LES dispersion results were qualitatively similar. The LES results were further utilized to derive the evolution of infection probability. Air purifiers augmenting the effective ventilation rate by 65% reduced the spatially averaged infection probability by 30%-32%. This relative reduction manifests with approximately 15 min lag as aerosol dispersion only gradually reaches the purifier units. Both viral findings and LES results confirm that spatial partitioning has a negligible effect on the mean infection-probability indoors, but may affect the local levels adversely. Exploitation of high-resolution LES jointly with microbiological measurements enables an informative interpretation of the experimental results and facilitates a more complete risk assessment.

Initial Stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Perspective on Health Risk Communications in the Restaurant Industry.

Restaurant online review websites have made changes to adapt to customers' shifting needs during the COVID-19 crisis. Based on information behavior theory and social penetration theory, the present study investigated the changes in customers' emotions and how the volume of online reviews as an indication of sales is impacted by the instructional (i.e., with quantitative variables) and emotional (i.e., with qualitative variables) information on review websites. By comparing the same month (January-April) during 2017-2020, positive sentiment experienced a plunge, while negative sentiment showed an upsurge in April 2020. The volume of reviews was impacted by five quantitative variables (i.e., confirmed COVID-19 case number, food delivery option, takeout option, delivery fee, and delivery time) and seven qualitative variables (i.e., anticipation, fear, trust, anger, disgust, joy, and sadness). This study provides new insight into understanding information content on review websites during the crisis (e.g., pandemic) from the perspective of health risk communication.

Characteristics Associated With US Adults' Self-Reported COVID-19 Protective Behaviors When Getting Food From Restaurants, Winter 2021.

OBJECTIVES: Visiting restaurants and bars, particularly when doing so indoors, can increase transmission risk of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, among people who are not fully vaccinated. We aimed to understand US adults' self-reported protective behaviors when getting food from restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic when vaccines were not widely available. METHODS: We used online nationwide survey data from January 2021 to assess self-reported restaurant-related behaviors of respondents (n = 502). We also used multiple logistic regression models to examine associations between respondents' characteristics and these restaurant-related behaviors. RESULTS: Half (49.7%) of respondents reported eating indoors at a restaurant at least once in the month before the survey. Respondents most likely to report eating inside restaurants were in the youngest age category (18-34 y), had personal COVID-19 experience, or indicated they felt safe eating inside a restaurant. Among respondents who had gotten food from a restaurant, more than 65% considered each of the following factors as important in their restaurant dining decision: whether the restaurant staff were wearing face masks, the restaurant requires face masks, other customers are wearing face masks, seating was spaced at least 6 feet apart, someone in their household was at risk for severe COVID-19 illness, and the restaurant was crowded. The most common protective behavior when eating at a restaurant was wearing a face mask; 44.9% of respondents who had eaten at a restaurant wore a face mask except when actively eating or drinking. CONCLUSION: The need for practicing prevention strategies, especially for those not up to date with COVID-19 vaccines, will be ongoing. Our findings can inform COVID-19 prevention messaging for public health officials, restaurant operators, and the public.

A Citywide Analysis of DWI Events in Association with Bar Reopening and Increased Restaurant Capacity.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic many bars closed. Simultaneously, many persons experienced stay at home orders linked to an increase in alcohol use. The net impact of these restrictions on the incidence of driving while intoxicated (DWI) events is unclear. METHODS AND MATERIAL: We conducted a retrospective observational analysis using publicly reported data regarding police traffic encounters. We analyzed changes in DWI encounters in the San Antonio, TX metropolitan area before (1-14 October 2020) versus after (15-28 October 2020) bars reopened during the COVID-19 pandemic. We made these comparisons by comparing medians and through regression modelling to control for potential confounders. RESULTS: During the study period, 16,609 police traffic encounters met inclusion criteria. Of these, 353 were DWI encounters, 594 were officer traffic stop encounters, 14,565 were traffic related encounters, 113 were wrong way driver encounters, and 984 were other traffic violations. In the before and after analysis, there was no difference in the daily median numbers of DWI encounters (12 versus 10, p=0.461), wrong way driver incidents (3 versus 2, p=0.328), or other traffic violations (34 versus 35, p=0.854). The multivariable regression model similarly identified no change in the daily incidence of DWI encounters (p=0.281). CONCLUSIONS: We detected no change in the incidence of DWI encounters immediately following the reopening of bars in the San Antonio metropolitan area.

SARS-CoV-2 suppression and early closure of bars and restaurants: a longitudinal natural experiment.

Despite severe economic damage, full-service restaurants and bars have been closed in hopes of suppressing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 worldwide. This paper explores whether the early closure of restaurants and bars in February 2021 reduced symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 in Japan. Using a large-scale nationally representative longitudinal survey, we found that the early closure of restaurants and bars decreased the utilization rate among young persons (OR 0.688; CI95 0.515-0.918) and those who visited these places before the pandemic (OR 0.754; CI95 0.594-0.957). However, symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 did not decrease in these active and high-risk subpopulations. Among the more inactive and low-risk subpopulations, such as elderly persons, no discernible impacts are observed in both the utilization of restaurants and bars and the symptoms of SARS-CoV-2. These results suggest that the early closure of restaurants and bars without any other concurrent measures does not contribute to the suppression of SARS-CoV-2.

Evaluating the policy of closing bars and restaurants in Cataluña and its effects on mobility and COVID19 incidence.

The world has gone through unprecedented changes since the global pandemic hit. During the early phase of the pandemic, the absence of known drugs or pharmaceutical treatments forced governments to introduce different policies in order to help reduce contagion rates and manage the economic consequences of the pandemic. This paper analyses the causal impact on mobility and COVID19 incidence from policy makers in Cataluña, Spain. We use anonymized phone-based mobility data together with reported incidence and apply a series of causal impact models frequently used in econometrics and policy evaluation in order to measure the policies impact. We analyse the case of Cataluña and the public policy decision of closing all bars and restaurants down for a 5 week period between 2020-16-10 and 2020-23-11. We find that this decision led to a significant reduction in mobility. It not only led to reductions in mobility but from a behavioural economics standpoint, we highlight how people responded to the policy decision. Moreover, the policy of closing bars and restaurants slowed the incidence rate of COVID19 after a time lag has been taken into account. These findings are significant since governments worldwide want to restrict movements of people in order to slow down COVID19 incidence without infringing on their rights directly.

U.S. household food acquisition behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic upended how many Americans acquire foods. In this paper, we analyze eight food acquisition activities at different points in the pandemic, which allows us to evaluate how food acquisition changed as case rates changed and vaccine rollouts occurred. We collected data from three nationally representative online samples in September 2020, December 2020, and March 2021. We evaluate changes across time and across demographics using a multivariate probit model. Across time, we find that in-person grocery shopping remained extremely common (over 90%) throughout the pandemic. Food acquisition activities with less in-person contact (e.g., ordering from a meal kit service, online grocery shopping) peaked in December 2020, likely due to the surge in cases during that period. Ordering take-out from a restaurant remained common throughout the pandemic, but indoor dining increased significantly in March 2021 when vaccines were becoming more widely available. Food acquisition activities also varied across consumer groups, particularly indoor and outdoor restaurant dining. Overall our results offer evidence that in-person grocery shopping is a staple food acquisition activity that is unlikely to be changed; however, there is a segment of consumers who complement their in-person grocery shopping with online grocery shopping options. Further, relative to grocery stores, restaurants may be more vulnerable to surges in COVID-19 case rates. We conclude with implications for grocery retailers and restaurants as they continue to navigate operational challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

[Management of healthy food environment improvement through restaurants and other settings by prefectures and cities of cabinet order].

Objectives　In Japanese nutrition policy, emphasis is placed on healthy food environment improvement through restaurants and other settings by prefectures and cities of cabinet order (cities). This study aimed to clarify the actual status of management implementation by prefectures and cities.Methods　A mail survey of 47 prefectures and 106 cities throughout Japan was conducted in October 2020. Management implementation, including the existence of a healthy food environment improvement system (system) for restaurants and other settings, was confirmed. Local governments that had implemented the system were asked about the scope, dissemination efforts, process evaluation, and improvement of the system.Results　Of the local governments that responded, 39/42 prefectures (92.9%) and 57/82 cities (69.5%) implementing the system were included in the study. A total of 84.6% of prefectures and 14.0% of cities assessed the nutrient intake of local residents within the past five years. The median number of dietitians in the main office of the department in charge of healthy food environment improvement was two in both prefectures and cities. A target for healthy food environment improvement was set by 69.2% of prefectures and 54.4% of cities. The scope of the system was restaurant meals for 94.9% of prefectures and 100.0% of cities as well as ready-made meals for 87.2% of prefectures and 93.0% of cities. A total of 69.2% of prefectures and 66.7% of cities collaborated internally or with other local governments, while 15.4% of prefectures and 15.8% of cities entrusted system dissemination to external organizations. A total of 87.2% of prefectures and 89.5% of cities assessed the number of registered stores/companies, while 17.6% of prefectures and 21.6% of cities assessed the number of restaurants and other settings in the entire jurisdiction. A total of 33.3% of prefectures and 40.4% of cities established a renewal system, while 71.8% of prefectures and 33.3% of cities improved the system.Conclusion　Although underreporting due to the COVID-19 pandemic is possible, in local governments that had implemented the system, few cities assessed nutrient intake, and approximately 50-70% of prefectures and cities set targets for healthy food environment improvement. While approximately 90% of each local government assessed the number of registered stores/companies, those that assessed the number of stores/companies in the entire jurisdiction as a population size were approximately 20%. Approximately 30-40% of each local government has established a renewal system.

[Epidemiologic evidence on the role of hospitality venues in the transmission of COVID-19: A rapid review of the literature]. / Evidencia epidemiológica acerca del rol de la hostelería en la transmisión de la COVID-19: una revisión rápida de la literatura.

OBJECTIVE: To review the scientific epidemiologic evidence on the role of hospitality venues in the incidence or mortality from COVID-19. METHOD: We included studies conducted in any population, describing either the impact of the closure or reopening of hospitality venues, or exposure to these venues, on the incidence or mortality from COVID-19. We used a snowball sampling approach with backward and forward citation search along with co-citations. RESULTS: We found 20 articles examining the role of hospitality venues in the epidemiology of COVID-19. Modeling studies showed that interventions reducing social contacts in indoor venues can reduce COVID-19 transmission. Studies using statistical models showed similar results, including that the closure of hospitality venues is amongst the most effective measures in reducing incidence or mortality. Case studies highlighted the role of hospitality venues in generating super-spreading events, along with the importance of airflow and ventilation inside these venues. CONCLUSIONS: We found consistent results across studies showing that the closure of hospitality venues is amongst the most effective measures to reduce the impact of COVID-19. We also found support for measures limiting capacity and improving ventilation to consider during the re-opening of these venues.

Will Macau's Restaurants Survive or Thrive after Entering the O2O Food Delivery Platform in the COVID-19 Pandemic?

COVID-19 presents a formidable challenge to global tourism. One of the emergency measures adopted by the Macau restaurant industry has been to increase its revenue by joining an online-to-offline (O2O) platform. Nevertheless, are there any risks that follow these opportunities? This article aims to explore whether any risks follow these opportunities, which could extend the literature. Study 1 explores the key factors that customers focus on by analyzing the content of customer reviews published on the Aomi platform through Python. Results show that brand credibility, freshness, and taste remained prominent in the customers' dining experience. Packaging, delivery quality, and hygiene emerged as new factors due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the popularity of the O2O platform. Customers and staff continued to participate in service interactions through these online channels. Meanwhile, Study 2 contributes to the present understanding of O2O services in restaurants by interviewing catering professionals, and the results highlight how restaurateurs adopt their strategies on O2O platforms.