CDC Urges Tighter Gym Precautions Following Facility-Related COVID-19 Outbreaks

Federal health officials are urging gym goers to wear a mask at all times while exercising indoors, after two separate reports published Monday showed high coronavirus transmission during intense training classes at gyms in Hawaii and Illinois.

COVID-19 outbreaks in both states in late last summer were linked to fitness centers not reliably enforcing physical distance, consistent and correct mask use, or reminding customers and staff to stay home when sick, the Centers for Disease Control and Disease Control said. Prevention in their reports.

In Illinois, the CDC said, 68% of the 81 people who attended indoor gym classes at an unidentified Chicago facility between August 24 and September 1 contracted the virus. Of those who contracted the virus, 44% admitted to attending an indoor exercise class on or after the day their symptoms first started, the CDC said.

Guests at the Chicago gym were required to wear a mask upon entry, take their temperature, and be screened for symptoms of the coronavirus. Training equipment was also spaced at least six feet apart and classes were kept to a minimum to help reduce virus transmission. However, after exercising, guests were allowed to remove their masks, which is largely how the virus has spread.

In addition to 76% of guests who admit they didn’t often wear masks while exercising, three people admitted attending a class on the same day or after receiving a positive COVID-19 test result, the CDC said.

Unfortunately for gym goers, these safety glitches created an extremely risky virus transmission environment that was quite predictable, Joshua Epstein, a professor of epidemiology in NYU’s School of Global Public Health, told The Washington Post.

“It’s a high breath in a closed space. Yes, people brought masks, but apparently [a majority] said they rarely wore them, including some attendees with COVID. Some were symptomatic and some knew they were positive. These are all very, very risky conditions, ”he said.

In the case of Hawaii, 21 COVID-19 cases 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, a 46-year-old man who worked as a personal trainer, went on to teach fitness classes at a third gym before being hospitalized for the virus.

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

The next day, on June 28 – about 38 hours before the man started showing symptoms – he gave an indoor cycling lesson for 10 people. No one was wearing a mask, although all participants, including the instructor, stayed at least six feet apart.

“Doors and windows were closed and three large floor fans were aimed at the participants for cooling. [The instructor] stood on a pedestal in front of the participants, shouting instructions and encouragement, ”said the CDC.

Four of the 10 participants did not test positive for the virus the following week. The other six, who attended 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 attending that day’s class, but not the June 28’s, also tested positive.

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

“Aerosol emission during speech has been correlated with loudness, and COVID-19 outbreaks related to intense physical activity and singing have been previously reported,” the report states.

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

The CDC has previously advised athletes to physically distance themselves from others, wash their hands regularly, and wear a mask indoors, even while exercising.

“If the intensity of the exercise makes it difficult to wear a mask, it is especially important to do so [that activity] outdoors away from others, ”the CDC said, recommending that people carry more than one mask to exchange when it gets damp with sweat.

“For healthy people, wearing masks during exercise has not been shown to be harmful. However, individuals with lung disease, such as asthma or COPD, or heart disease, should be evaluated by a health care professional before attempting exercise with a mask, ”added the CDC.