CDC recommends stricter precautions at the gym after outbreaks of COVID-19 linked to facilities

Federal health officials are asking gym members to wear a mask at all times while exercising indoors, after two separate reports published on Monday found high transmission of coronavirus during high-intensity exercise classes at Hawaii gyms. and in Illinois.

Outbreaks of COVID-19 in both states at the end of last summer were associated with gyms that were not reliably imposing physical distance, consistent and correct use of the mask, or reminding customers and employees to stay home when they are patients, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in their reports.

In Illinois, the CDC said, 68% of the 81 people who attended gym classes at an unidentified facility in Chicago between August 24 and September 1 ended up contracting the virus. Of those who contracted the virus, 44% admitted that they attended a gym class inside or after the day their symptoms started, said the CDC.

Chicago gym guests were forced to wear a mask upon entering, had their temperatures measured and examined for symptoms of coronavirus. The training equipment was also placed at least six feet apart and the size of the classes was minimized to help reduce the transmission of the virus. After exercising, however, guests could remove the masks, which is basically how the virus spread.

In addition to 76% of guests admitting to wearing masks infrequently during exercise, three people admitted to attending a class on the same day or after receiving a positive result on the COVID-19 test, the CDC said.

Unfortunately for gymgoers, these security breaches created an extremely high-risk environment for the transmission of the virus that was quite predictable, Joshua Epstein, professor of epidemiology at the NYU School of Global Public Health, told The Washington Post.

“It is a loud breath in an enclosed space. Yes, people brought masks, but evidently [a majority] said they rarely used them, including some COVID participants. Some were symptomatic and some knew they were positive. All of these are very, very high-risk circumstances, ”he said.

In the case of Hawaii, 21 cases of COVID-19 were linked to a fitness instructor who taught group classes at two fitness facilities in Honolulu just before he started showing symptoms of the virus on June 29. One of his infected students, 46 years old An old man who worked as a personal trainer, started teaching gym classes at a third gym before being hospitalized because of the virus.

According to the CDC report, the fitness instructor sporadically wore a mask when teaching group classes. During an indoor yoga class on June 27, he wore a mask, while his 27 students did not. None of the participants had symptoms of the virus in the next two weeks. Only one was tested for the virus and was negative.

The next day, on June 28 – about 38 hours before the man started showing symptoms – he gave an indoor stationary cycling class to 10 people. No one wore a mask, although all participants, including the instructor, remained at least two meters away.

“Doors and windows were closed, and three large floor fans were directed to the participants for cooling. [The instructor] was on a pedestal facing the participants, shouting instructions and encouragement, ”said the CDC.

Four out of 10 participants did not test positive for the virus the following week. The other six, who went on to the next day’s cycling class on June 29 with the same instructor and room setup, later tested positive for the virus. Four other people who attended that day’s class, but not that of June 28, also tested positive.

The CDC concluded that the infections were probably facilitated by the participants’ lack of masks, poor room ventilation and possible aerosol emission by the instructor’s screams.

“Aerosol emission during speech was correlated with volume, and outbreaks of COVID-19 related to intense physical activity and singing have been reported previously,” says the report.

“To reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in fitness facilities, team members and customers must wear a mask, and the facilities must enforce consistent and correct use of the mask (including during high intensity activities) and distance. physical, ”said the CDC. Internal ventilation should also be improved and gyms should remind staff and customers to stay home when they are sick.

The CDC had already advised gym members to distance themselves physically from other people, to wash their hands frequently and to wear a mask indoors, even during exercise.

“If the intensity of the exercise makes it difficult to use a mask, it is especially important to [that activity] outdoors away from other people, ”said the CDC, recommending that people carry more than one mask to change if they get wet with sweat.

“For healthy people, wearing masks during exercise was not harmful. However, individuals affected by lung diseases, such as asthma or COPD, or heart disease, should be evaluated by a healthcare professional before attempting to exercise with any mask, ”added the CDC.