CINCINNATI — What was a "troubling" sight for Gov. Mike DeWine was a welcome change for business owners at The Banks in the hours leading up to Thursday's Reds Opening Day game.

"One to 10, I give it an 11," said Kris Keefe, manager at Jefferson Social, which sits at the corner of E. Freedom Way and Marian Spencer Drive in the heart of The Banks' new designated outdoor refreshment area (DORA). He said it's the busiest day The Banks has seen since the coronavirus pandemic began more than a year ago.

Keefe's counterpart down the block at Holy Grail Tavern and Grille, Nick Remsay, agreed that, without the open-container zone just out their doors, there would be a lot of impatient, unhappy fans -- and a lot of lost business.

"We had a line at our door at 8 o'clock," Remsay said. "The inside filled up very quickly because we are at 50% capacity still, because of COVID rules."

The Banks came under close scrutiny just days prior, when its first weekend showcased spring weather and large crowds packed into Freedom Way just outside the stadium, without practicing what some would consider appropriate social distancing and face-covering during a pandemic. A spokesperson for The Banks, Tracy Schwegmann, acknowledged that visitors weren't taking advantage of the DORA's full, 85-acre footprint, but said she expects, with time, that will change.

"It's an enormous footprint," she said. "We certainly want folks, as they come down to the DORA, to be mindful of those health recommendations that are in place to help keep you safe."

Late Thursday morning, crowds began arriving at The Banks but stayed mostly within the immediate vicinity of the ballpark, leading folks like DeWine to say during his routine COVID-19 briefing that afternoon: "They’re outside, and that’s the best thing I can say -- they are outside. But more people wearing masks would certainly make me feel a lot better."

Keefe and Remsay said they saw the potential the DORA holds for the neighborhood post-pandemic.

"We're just very excited about the future," Keefe said. "Once all the COVID restrictions are (done), what these places are going to look like down here with the big screen on the outside of the stadium, and all this extra capacity, it's really exciting. It'll be a lot of fun."

CINCINNATI — He's a Reds fan, but Gov. Mike DeWine hardly cheered when he saw Opening Day crowds at The Banks on Thursday.

"I think that's a mistake. I think that's a mistake to be that close together," DeWine said during his routine COVID-19 press briefing on Thursday afternoon, around the same time fans began congregating en masse on E. Freedom Way just outside Great American Ball Park. The strip -- lined with bars and restaurants -- is a small portion of a new designated open-container zone that spans most of The Banks.

For DeWine, he saw too many people too close for his comfort, and too few wearing masks.

"They’re outside, and that’s the best thing I can say — they are outside," the governor said.

The comment begged the question: How safe are outdoor gatherings when crowds get as dense as they were on Reds Opening Day, or like they were during the open-container zone's -- also known as a designated outdoor refreshment area, or DORA -- first weekend.

Dr. Steve Feagins with Mercy Health said get-togethers outdoors are safer than indoors, for the obvious reason: better ventilation. But he added that what he saw at The Banks Thursday made an entire physician's lounge at his hospital cringe.

"Everybody had the same reaction to watching all those people at The Banks," he said. "Oh, no. And these are the docs that take care of COVID patients."

Especially in an atmosphere where crowds are cheering, the risk of transmission -- even outdoors -- increases, Feagins said.

"When the sound is up, you're shouting, so you're actually aerosolizing more," he said.

Despite the increasing availability of COVID-19 vaccines, states across the country -- including Ohio -- are seeing a rise in cases and hospitalizations, yet again. But now, those who are contracting the virus most are younger people, as a majority of the state's older populations have already been vaccinated.

"Ohio remains in a race against a virus that is now more contagious and is right back on our heels," said Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, chief medical officer for the Ohio Department of Health, referring to increasing cases of more virulent COVID variants that have surged across the U.S.

Vanderhoff said doctors expect one or more of the variant strains soon to be the most common among current coronavirus cases.

So when it comes to wearing a mask and social distancing -- even when outside among crowds -- Feagins said, "Just keep going."