Study: Higher Spending On Dining Out Could Forecast A Rise In The Virus

Aa JPMorgan study suggests a connection between increased spending on dining out and a quicker proliferation of COVID-19. Jesse Edgerton, an analyst, discovered that heightened eatery spending in a state forecast a new instances of the virus in that location three weeks subsequently, CNBC reported.

Edgerton examined information spanning 30 million debit and credit cardholders of Chase as well as the case monitor from Johns Hopkins University.

Arizona, Louisiana and West Virginia displayed the least relative drops in spending at eateries on the part of cardholders in comparison to the year-prior time frame. Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, on the other hand, experienced the most acute declines.

However, Edgerton noted that states currently experiencing a jump in new infections have other factors in common besides higher spending on dining out.

On Wednesday (June 24), the country experienced the highest day for new cases. Western and Southern states such as Texas, Florida and California are experiencing a jump in new COVID-related instances and hospitalizations.

The news comes as seated dining domestically on June 12 and June 13 was off by 65 percent compared to the same timeframe a year prior. It was a large improvement during the timeframe spanning from March 21 to the conclusion of April. At that time, indoor dining plummeted by almost 100 percent.

And diners really want to dine out again, but they don’t want to go to any place, Ryan Dion, co-founder and COO of the Evviva Trattoria and 110 Grill chains in New York and New England said in a recent PYMNTS interview. They wish to travel locally to a place where they truly feel safe from the virus.

Legendary Restaurant Group Chef and Owner Chris Damian mentioned a similar sentiment in a recent PYMNTS interview, noting there are some reasons for optimism with Massachusetts beginning to open again — primarily in diners’ literally hunger to start eating in restaurants again.

But, as COVID-19 cases jump in Texas, officials in the state have walked back their intentions for reopening in the state. Greg Abbott, the governor, said current rules for retail and restaurant capacity could stay, but no further actions would occur so long as cases were on the rise.