CDC urges stricter precautions in gyms
Public health officials last week urged gymgoers to wear masks when they work out and to remain 6 feet apart, as new research described the rapid spread of coronavirus infections during high-inten
sity exercise classes at gyms in Honolulu and Chicago.
Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised fitness cen- ters to take a variety of measures to prevent outbreaks, including enforcing proper mask use and reminding gym and staff members to stay home if they have symptoms of illness or have tested pos- itive for the virus.
Heavy breathing during intense physical activity in confined indoor spaces increases chances of trans- mission, and fitness teach- ers who shouted exercise instructions to members may also have contributed to the spread, the CDC research found. Exercising outdoors or taking virtual fitness classes could help reduce infection risk, the authors noted.
“It’s very important for individuals who would like to attend a gym and work out to be cognizant of what
the COVID symptoms are, and to be aware that if you are feeling something that looks and feels like a COVID- 19 symptom, to stay home as a precaution,” said Richard A. Teran, a CDC public health researcher in Chicago who was one of the authors of the Chicago case study published Wednesday.
At a gym in Chicago, Teran and his colleagues identi- fied 55 coronavirus infec- tions among 81 people who attended high-intensity, in-person fitness classes between Aug. 24 and Sept 1.
Among them were 22 people who had gone to the classes on the day they developed their first symptoms of illness, or the day after. Three went to an exercise class on the day they received a positive test result indicating they had been infected, or the day after. In all, 43 gym members who tested positive participated in classes when they were possibly infectious, researchers said.
The outbreak occurred even though classes at the gym were limited to 25% of their usual size, with only 10 to 15 people in attendance.
Members were required to wear masks when they entered the gym, at which point they had their temperatures taken and were screened for symptoms. But
they were allowed to remove their masks while exercising.
In Hawaii, public health investigators linked 21 infections to a 37-year-old male fitness instructor in Honolulu who taught at several facilities and developed symptoms of COVID-19 — body aches, chills, headache and cough — at the end of June, according to a CDC report published Wednesday.
On June 29, just hours before his first symptoms, he taught an hourlong stationary cycling class with 10 participants, in which no one wore a mask. All of those participants tested positive in early July, among them a 46-yearold man who worked as a fitness instructor at another facility. He became acutely ill and was hospitalized in an intensive care unit.
Twelve hours before that instructor experienced his first symptoms, he held several small kickboxing sessions and a personal training session. Of 11 people exposed, 10 became infected and tested positive in early July. All 10 developed COVID symptoms, and one was hospitalized in
the ICU.