90DayFinancier

https://www.businessinsider.com/air-conditioning-spread-coronavirus-restaurant-can-service-industry-open-again-2020-4 CORONAVIRUS Live updates DOW +1.9% S&P 500 +2.1% NASDAQ 100 +2.4% HOMEPAGE Air-conditioning spread the coronavirus to 9 people sitting near an infected person in a restaurant, researchers say. It has huge implications for the service industry. Shira Feder Apr 21, 2020, 8:49 AM FILE - In this March 25, 2020 file photo, the dining section is closed off at East Side Pockets, a small restaurant near Brown University, in Providence, R.I. Desperate small business owners who hoped for a quick government lifeline to help them survive the coronavirus crisis are still without funds, instead battling red tape, wary banks and swamped computer systems. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) The dining section is closed off at East Side Pockets, a small restaurant near Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island. It isn't the restaurant mentioned in the researchers' letter. Associated Press In an early-release research letter in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, researchers said they found that nine people sitting near one another at a restaurant in China in January got COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, and that it likely spread because of the restaurant's air-conditioner. The authors advised restaurants to increase the distance between tables and improve ventilation. As restaurants look to reopen, experts say they will need to take extra safety measures, such as reducing capacity, having employees wear masks, and capping how long diners can stay there.