New York (CNN Business) Americans living in high-risk Covid states are starting to shy away from restaurants, malls and airports as the Delta variant rapidly spreads. A staggering 90,000 US eateries have closed permanently or long-term during the pandemic, according to estimates by the National Restaurant Association. Aneta Markowska, chief economist at Jefferies, called the restaurant trend a "yellow flag" for the economic recovery. The good news is that the slowdown in consumer activities in high-risk Covid states does not appear to be threatening the broader economic recovery. Still, there are hopes on Wall Street that this Delta wave will peak quickly, as it has in other nations, allowing the restaurant recovery to get back on track.

Source: CNN August 10, 2021 19:30 UTC