The public has been bombarded with media reports about the rapid spread of monkeypox within the U.S. That buzz may prove more of an issue for restaurants than the chances of guests or workers contracting the illness on-site, especially if rudimentary precautions are taken, according to infectious-disease experts.
The germ that causes the nonlethal malady is no coronavirus, stress public-health watchdogs like the Centers for Disease Control and Infection (CDC).
The poxvirus can be spread from person to person via linen, the federal agency says, meaning restaurant tablecloths or the clothing worn by staff could conceivably be points of contamination.
It can also be passed via droplets exhaled by someone who has it, which is only possible through very close proximity, such as two line cooks working side by side for a shift, literally inhaling one another’s breath.
But CDC guidance indicates neither scenario is likely, says Kimberly Gore, practice leader for the national practice of the insurance brokerage HUB International.
She notes that virtually every restaurant uses a commercial service to launder its linens, and they typically wash the materials in water that’s hotter than 140 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature the CDC says will kill the poxvirus.
And two employees would need to be virtually dancing together throughout their shift for one to inhale the expiration of another, according to the science.
That’s why, Gore says, the CDC and health officials haven’t warned the public to avoid public gathering spots like restaurants, as they had as a precaution against COVID-19.
Yet the reality that restaurants pose a negligible risk may not dampen the fears of customers and staff. Gore says HUB has not heard any reports from its restaurant customers about sales or traffic dropping because of concerns about contracting monkeypox. Nor are there indications that employees are missing shifts or quitting because they’re worried.
But Gore advises operators to address both the actual danger and the perceived peril through a combination of education and adherence to sanitation protocols that are probably already stated policies.
The best practices she recommends for restaurateurs:
“First of all, educating their staff,” she says. “That’s educating them on policies and procedures. ‘If you are sick, here’s what you do’—probably stay home. ‘This is our policy and procedure.’
“Then understanding and educating them on the restaurant’s cleaning protocols, and making sure those policies are followed,” Gore continues. “Everyone has a cleaning protocol. From what I understand, the standard cleaning and disinfecting procedures in place are good on monkeypox.”
She also advises operators to touch base with their laundry service, “just confirming with them, ‘hey, you do 140 degrees, right?’”
Although President Biden has declared monkeypox to be a public health emergency, “the numbers are still quite low,’ says Gore.
As of Sept. 9, a total of 21,504 cases have been reported in the U.S., according to the CDC. In contrast, the tally of new coronavirus infections has averaged 68,356 for each of the last 14 days, according to the running count maintained by The New York Times.
But as with COVID, there are monkeypox hotspots. About a third of the known U.S. cases have been recorded in California and New York, the nation’s first and fourth largest restaurant markets, respectively.
“If you happen to be in an area where the numbers are more frequent, then utilize PPE—more gloves than masks,” says Gore, referring to personal protective equipment. Because secretions from a monkeypox blister carry live virus, gloves can block a transfer of the pathogens from a victim to a surface to another victim.
Employees are expected to report being afflicted with monkeypox, COVID or any other contagious disease. “I don’t think a restaurateur would ask a guest if they had monkeypox,” says Gore. It may even be illegal to do so in some jurisdictions. “At this point, you do depend on them volunteering the information.”
Yet management isn’t wholly dependent on customers’ willingness to reveal if they’ve contracted it.
“We tell a bartender or server that they should watch a guest to make sure they’ve not had too much to drink,” says Gore. They could also be sensitized to notice any guest with a visible blistery rash, the telltale symptom of monkeypox.
In that case, she says, the employee should bring the matter to the attention of a manager.
Yet it’s not clear what recourse the place has, other than to make sure the staff is adhering to prescribed safety measures.
Why has an insurance professional learned so much about monkeypox and its potential impact on restaurants?
It’s not so much the result of talking with operator clients about how to insure themselves against the impact, since most policies expressly exclude coverage for the fallout from a non-foodborne infectious disease, says Gore. They may have protection against an E.coli poisoning or another food-contamination crisis, but food is not a carrier of poxvirus, according to the CDC.
Rather, her knowledge reflects an interest in conferring with restaurant clients about how to improve their business and answering their questions about how to safeguard the enterprise against monkeypox.
“That’s where we sit right now,” she says.