Hamilton Journal News

CDC urges stricter precaution­s in gyms

- ©2021 The New York Times

Roni Caryn Rabin

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-intensity exercise classes at gyms in Honolulu and Chicago.

Researcher­s at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised fitness centers 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 positive for the virus.

Heavy breathing during intense physical activity in confined indoor spaces increases chances of transmissi­on, and fitness teachers 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 COVID19 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 identified 55 coronaviru­s infections 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.

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