People are starting to shun restaurants as the Delta variant spreads - especially in states where the virus risk is high

• Restaurant bookings dropped last week in five of the worst states for COVID-19, CNN reported.
• The new wave of COVID-19 infections could stall recovery for the hard-hit restaurant industry.
• Restaurants have also been impacted by labor shortages and supply chain disruptions.

The surging Delta variant is pushing Americans away from restaurants in some of the worst-hit states for COVID-19, a trend that might curb economic recovery for the badly hit industry, CNN reported.

In five of some of the worst-hit states for COVID-19, restaurant reservations on OpenTable fell to 80% of 2019 levels in the past week, marking a U-turn from July, when bookings on the platform were 10% above 2019 levels.

The restaurant industry has been devastated by the pandemic, with around 17% of US restaurants permanently closing ther doors since the virus began spreading. Now, the recovery brought about by climbing vaccination rates and other policies may be hamstrung by the rise of the highly contagious new variant.

"The next stage of the recovery requires consumers to leave the home, go on vacation, go to stores, restaurants and malls," said Stuart Kaiser, strategist at UBS, said to CNN. "The fact they are showing less willingness to do that is a negative indicator."

If the Delta variant and rising COVID-19 case numbers wasn't enough to cope with, the restaurant industry has also been battered by persistent labor shortages and supply chain issues.

Restaurants have struggled to fill positions for dishwashers, hostesses, and bussers as workers leave jobs at higher rates amid a nationwide labor shortage. Though workers saw higher wage increases during the pandemic as businesses tried to lure in new applicants and keep current employees, abusive and rude customers have spurred some employees to leave the industry.

Supply chain disruptions have also stymied the food industry's progress, as product shortages in essential ingredients and rising food prices have forced some restaurants to raise prices on their menus and cut hours.

"It's like one step forward and two steps back with this pandemic," Carlos Gazitua, president of Sergio Family's Restaurants, said to CNN.