A new study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that people who tested positive for COVID-19 were twice as likely to have reported dining out in the 14 days before their diagnosis than those who tested negative.

The researchers collected data July 1-29 across 10 states from 314 adults with coronavirus symptoms. About half of them (154) tested positive for the virus.

Participants were asked about possible community exposure in the two weeks leading up to their test and how well they followed social-distancing measures.

The study did not, however, ask whether participants dined indoors or outdoors, and researchers said more studies were needed to establish whether the findings would be similar in a larger sample of people.

The study comes with most states allowing people to dine indoors again. New York City recently announced plans to resume indoor dining on September 30.

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