Right now almost none of the restaurants and food stalls are safe. Almost 30 percent of employees working for a restaurant were (found) infected after taking swab tests.
Padang, W Sumatra, (ANTARA) - Food kiosks and restaurants are among the places that are contributing to the transmission of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a health expert has said.



“Right now almost none of the restaurants and food stalls are safe. Almost 30 percent of employees working for a restaurant were (found) infected after taking swab tests,” health expert from Andalas University (Unand), Padang, Dr. Andani Eka Putra, said here on Wednesday.



Since many restaurant customers and employees do not wear masks, restaurants are now emerging as one of the clusters of COVID-19 transmission, he said in a webinar on ‘New Normal Rather Than Back To Normal, COVID-19 and its Spread Pattern’, organized by cement producer PT Semen Padang and Igasar Semen Padang Foundation.



The most effective way to check the spread of COVID-19 at restaurants is to conduct free swab testing of their managers and employees, Dr. Andani suggested.



He said he expects restaurant managers and employees to follow the right health protocols, including wearing masks and keeping a physical distance while serving customers.



He also asked the public not to be afraid of COVID-19, but continue to follow the health protocols.



“Our community tends to ignore (the health protocols). But when they are infected, they get stressed. That is the cause of death: because of too much stress. Why do they die? Because their heart, kidney, and sugar are not controlled,” he said.



If people are afraid of facing COVID-19, then they must protect themselves and their families, he added. (INE)



EDITED BY INE

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Translator: Ikhwan Wahyudi/Suharto
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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