Outdoor Dining Tents Raise Questions of Virus Safety as Winter Nears

As temperatures cool, many of the outside dining options that have sprung up across the U.S. in reaction to pandemic restrictions have become a little less open-air.

The new structures come in varying forms, from clear plastic tents that allow just a few people to eat together to what appear to be full-on cabins inhabiting former parking spaces. Restaurants hope they’ll keep out the winter chill while keeping the virus at bay. That could allow them to serve more diners amid rules that dictate reduced capacity inside.

The problem: “Some of them are clearly not safe,” said Jack Caravanos, a clinical professor at New York University's School of Global Public Health and an industrial hygienist whose work assesses the safety of indoor and outdoor environments. “It is sort of the Wild West out there with the creation of these structures.”