The majority of Bay Area counties are now recommending that people resume wearing masks indoors due to the rapid spread of the Delta variant.
But it raises questions as to what the protocol is for eating inside restaurants.
San Francisco's public health officer Dr. Susan Philip told the San Francisco Chronicle that diners should keep the masks on when near other diners or employees whose vaccination status is unknown. For example, when ordering and going to the restroom.
For those with children 12 and under, "Since they can't be vaccinated, they should be masking when they're not able to social distance around people outside or whenever they're inside," said Dr. Dean Blumberg is Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UC Davis Health.
"Of course, we're not recommending masking for less than 2 years of age, because that's potentially unsafe," said Blumberg.
Ultimately, the best bet is to eat outside. It's estimated that 90% of people who catch COVID-19 do so indoors.
