The head of the Connecticut Restaurant Association said a state report on the origin of COVID-19 clusters doesn’t reflect restaurants’ role in the spread. A December report from the state Department of Public Health says restaurants were the most common source after tracking 84 separate COVID-19 outbreaks in the state.
Restaurant association head Scott Dolch said other states have done far more widespread reports that show restaurants played less of a role in spread.
“I don’t think it paints the correct and most accurate picture of where the cases are and the clusters. And we know our restaurants have been safe for four or five months," Dolch said.
A similar report from Massachusetts examined more than 35,000 clusters. It found less than half a percent traced back to restaurants. New York’s analysis of 46,000 cases found bars and restaurants accounted for 1.4% of infections.
Offices, homes and child care facilities were other main sources of COVID-19 outbreaks, according to the Connecticut report. State officials said the report won’t impact policy.
