Covid-19 has become an epidemic that has wreaked havoc across the world. It's shut down businesses, schools, and kept us in quarantine for roughly two months now. However, many states and countries are slowly starting to open up shops and restaurants as cases are beginning to drop. But is it really safe to open up yet?

NHK, Japan's public broadcasting organization worked with infectious disease experts to conduct an experiment that showed how quickly Covid-19 and other viruses can spread at a buffet aboard a cruise ship or in a restaurant. The video has now gone viral.

The video recreated a buffet scenario. Ten participants were asked to serve themselves from a display with varying hot and cold dishes as well as beverage options. One participant had invisible fluorescent paint - visible only under a black light - applied to their hands. This person represented an "infected" person who had coughed into his hand. The paint represented the virus.

The participants were then allowed to enjoy the buffet for 30 minutes. After time was up, the room was darkened. Under UV light, the experimenters were able to observe that traces of the glowing paint had spread to other participants, on the table, and on the beverages.

The "infected" person had touched various things such as a hot food container, tongs, the handle of a beverage pitcher. All of these items had now become surfaces that harbored the virus and helped to transfer the "virus" to other participants. In the video, the glowing paint was shown to be on clothing, glassware, silverware, and phones. Several participants had paint on their hands and three had paint on their faces.

We are seeing several restaurants open up despite the Covid-19 epidemic. There have been videos circulating the internet showing people eating with no social distance protocols in place. This video was only done with ten people but imagine what would happen if there were 50 or even 100 people? Although cities may be opening up, it doesn't mean that the coronavirus has died down.