Two new case studies by the CDC have found that in-group fitness classes in Honolulu and Chicago directly led to COVID outbreaks that infected dozens of people – and the study’s authors warn that masks should be worn at all times when gyms reopen, or people should keep opt for outdoor fitness.
During the past year, business owners – and in particular gym owners – have publicly argued with elected officials and / or openly fought the health prescriptions of pandemics by keeping gyms open. It is important to keep up with physical and mental health, and they have demanded to see scientific evidence that gyms are dangerous vectors for the spread of the coronavirus.
As the New York Times reports, the Centers for Disease Control has published two case studies, one from Hawaii and one from Chicago, which provide compelling links between especially group fitness classes and the easy distribution of COVID-19 when there are masks. is not worn. The studies confirm what was reported early in the pandemic by the CDC about an outbreak at a group fitness class in South Korea.
In the Chicago study, which looked at an outbreak that infected 55 out of 81 people who attended a group fitness class at one gym for one week last August, researchers found that classmates attended both the inconsistent use of mask and classes after they experienced COVID. symptoms. Three participants who were interviewed attended fitness classes on the same day or one day after receiving a positive COVID test result because they had no symptoms and that they were foolish.
These infections occurred at a time when fitness classes in Chicago were limited to 10 to 16 people who had a distance between them. However, gyms required masks to enter the door and temperature control, but this allowed people to remove masks while exercising.
The Honolulu outbreak appears to be particularly linked to one fitness instructor, and the case study examines the rate of contagion between two days and a few hours before the onset of the symptom. This 37-year-old male instructor, referred to as instructor A, was found to have infected 21 other people, including a second fitness instructor. Instructor A taught a yoga class of 28 people, just over two days before he felt sick, and no one in the class turned up positively for COVID. However, this instructor taught a rotation class for 10 people the next day, and ten people the next day, and six of them were the same as the previous ten. The 10 participants in the turn class on the third day – the day when the instructor experienced fatigue and other symptoms about four hours after class – it was positive for COVID, and everyone was in class without wearing masks.
According to the researchers, in addition to the lack of ventilation and the lack of a mask policy, the screaming instructor, while highly contagious, can also contribute to 10 out of ten people being infected in one class.
At the time of the outbreak, the Honolulu Star Advertiser reported that 17 cases had been linked to two gyms, and dr. Sarah Park, state epidemiologist, said all indoor gyms could be a breeding ground for all sorts of infections. “And she said: ‘It is imperative that all gyms follow the safe practices required by state and country governments. These include the right physical distance in training areas and in group classes, wearing masks at all times, consistent and thorough disinfection of equipment and all surfaces. ‘This indicates that these gyms have not complied with the state’s mandate on wearing masks.
Gyms can probably work relatively safely, with mask protocols, but for those who fancy group fitness, these studies suggest that there is reason to hold out or just do it outside. A limited study among gym goers in Norway last spring suggested that no COVID infections were linked to gyms that did proper distance without masks, but there was very little virus in Norway at the time.
“Nothing is 100 percent safe,” Alex Larcom of the International Health Racquet and Sports Club Association told the Times. “There is never a zero risk. But [health] clubs are not the primary driver of COVID distribution. ”
Larcom cites the irresponsibility of Chicago-class fitness class participants, which were symptomatic or COVID-positive, saying, “We rely on people who are sick or think they are sick to remove themselves from society.”
Clearly, the moral of the story here is that people are dumb and will remain dumb, especially but not just in America, so watch out for maskless twists and the coughing person of two Stairmasters.
Photo: Humphrey Muleba