Human behavior-based COVID-19 transmission in two dining spaces

Abstract

Since December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly disseminated globally, posing significant threats to the world. The dining spaces are high-risk indoor environments for the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, posing challenges for intervention and control. This study, based on surveillance videos from two COVID-19 outbreak cases in restaurants, obtained real data on human behaviors of close contact and surface touch. A respiratory infectious disease transmission model was developed, incorporating four transmission routes: short-range airborne, long-range airborne, fomite and large droplet. The results indicate that diners and staff spent 21.9%-28.7% and 17.5%-27.8% of their time on speaking, respectively, while spending 85.9%-90.7% and 83.4%-87.6% of their time on surface touching. The primary transmission routes were short-range (contributing 5.8%-70.9%) and long-range airborne (contributing 28.4%-93.0%), with fomite and large droplet routes contributing less than 12%. Staff-only mask wearing reduced infection risk by 12.8%-31.8%. It is recommended that mandatory mask wearing for staff is necessary, while diners should wear masks as much as possible, and that the equivalent ventilation rate of clean fresh air is suggested to 30 m³/ (h ·person). This study provides a scientific support to make non-pharmaceutical interventions in dinning spaces.