Fact Check: Fox News host Laura Ingraham falsely claims restrictions on eating out are not supported by science

Fact Check By: Craig Jones, Newswise

On December 8th on Fox News, during a transition between her show and Sean Hannity, TV host Laura Ingraham wrongly claimed restrictions on eating out are not supported by science. The comment came after Hannity made reference to Ingraham’s on-air interview the previous day with a Los Angeles restaurant owner. The claim is inaccurate. There is evidence that restaurants and bars are among the most common places for the virus spread.

According to a study in Physics of Fluids, a cough in a closed space without a mask (such as an indoor restaurant where you have to remove your mask to eat) will disperse in a cloud about 7 times larger than with a surgical mask and 23 times larger than with an N95 mask.

As reported by Politifact…

Modeling studies have indicated that restaurants are high-risk environments for COVID-19 transmission,” said Jason McDonald, a spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “In places like restaurants, people remove their masks to consume food and beverages, which increases the risk of transmission.”

 

One CDC report in September, based on a survey of 314 symptomatic people who got tested for the coronavirus in July, found a link between testing positive for the coronavirus and going to locations with on-site eating and drinking options, such as restaurants.

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