Data from 30 million Chase cardholders has revealed that the more people go to restaurants, the more COVID-19 cases there are, according to CNBC. A JPMorgan Chase analyst cross-referenced the card data with Johns Hopkins University’s case tracker and found that the level of restaurant spending in a state was the most predictive factor in the rise in new COVID-19 infections three weeks later. The relationship apparently became even more clear when factoring only in-person restaurant spending, compared to delivery or pickup.
At the same time, the analysis found that higher supermarket spending was associated with a slower spread of the virus, possibly because it indicates that more people are cooking at home and avoiding eating out.