SILSBEE, Texas — Whataburger in Silsbee remains closed after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.
Hardin County Judge Wayne McDaniel said the restaurant will be cleaned before reopening.
12News talked with Dr. Gary Mennie, Chief Medical Officer of Medical Center of Southeast Texas about how to safely eat out.
He said the most important if you choose to eat out is practice good hand washing techniques.
If you're going through a drive-through, he says you should wear a mask.
Whataburger in Silsbee is just the latest on the list of restaurants to temporarily close because of the pandemic.
Dr. Mennie doesn't want to discourage people from eating out.
He wants to stress the importance of doing everything you can to be safe.
"If you're going through the drive-thru, put your mask on before you get to the window. You don't have to have it on all the way," Mennie said.
He said you should also wash your hands before eating.
Two Beaumont Chick-Fil-A locations in Beaumont as well as a Papa John's in Buna decided to close temporarily while employees got tested.
"There's going to be people that test positive, probably for a long time. This is going to take awhile to go away," Mennie said.
Now that most restaurants are back open, Dr. Mennie says when sitting down, you should make sure the area is clean and there's plenty of space.
"If you're eating out, you can't wear a mask. You're going to be eating, so just make sure they have good spacing between their tables."
He reiterates it's up to each person whether they feel comfortable eating out.
"People who are immunocompromised, they still may want to not go out and eat out at this point. It's just personal choice," Mennie said.