This week, new research clearly reminds us that COVID-19 and the gym don’t mix particularly well. According to two new studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), group fitness classes are a fairly effective way to transmit coronavirus.
Both studies examined COVID-19 outbreaks that occurred at the Honolulu and Chicago fitness facilities during the summer of 2020, including a cycling class where all participants ended up ill. This outbreak was detected in an investigation by the Hawaii Department of Health. For the investigation, contact tracers and case investigators related 21 cases of COVID-19 to two fitness instructors who taught various classes in June and July 2020. They taught while they were infectious but previously had symptoms. notable.
One of these instructors gave a 60-minute high-intensity indoor cycling class just four hours before symptoms began later that night. The instructor and students were parked at a minimum distance of 6 meters, but none wore masks while exercising, according to the facility protocol, and the windows and doors were closed. The instructor confronted the class, “shouting instructions and encouragement,” the report says, and presumably spreading infectious respiratory drops containing the virus. The following week, the 10 people who attended the class tested positive for COVID-19.
Of these infected participants, one was also a fitness instructor, who would later be admitted to the ICU for a severe case of COVID-19. But before the symptoms appeared, he taught several classes, unmasked, at a different center, including a personal training session and three small kickboxing classes just 12 hours before the symptoms appeared. Of the eleven people who were exposed that day (five of whom were also exposed to the instructor two days earlier), 10 would test positive for COVID-19 over the next few days. The two students wearing masks and one of the instructor’s four personal training clients the day before also tested positive.
Another CDC study examined cases related to a Chicago gym operating at 25% capacity during the last week of August 2020. Of the 81 people who attended high-intensity indoor classes that week ( most go to several), 55 would be diagnosed with a diagnosis of COVID-19[FEMININEElsparticipantsvanportarlessevespròpiesestoresipesosesvansotmetreadetecciódesímptomesicontrolsdetemperaturaal’arribadaivanmantenirunadistànciadesispeusperònose’lsvaexigirqueportessinmàscaresmentrefeienexerciciDels58enquestatsel76%vainformarquefeiaservirlamàscaraambpocafreqüència(Potsermésimpactant:22assistentsquedonarienpositiuaCOVID-19vananaraunaclasseelmateixdiaodesprésquecomençessinelssímptomesinclosostresquevananaraunaclasseelmateixdiaodesprésd’haverobtingutunresultatpositiudelaprovaPeròéspossiblequealgunshaguessinanatalaclasseabansdeldiaabansdenotarsímptomesmésendavant)
Cap dels dos informes és sorprenent, per descomptat, tenint en compte el que sabem sobre la propagació de COVID-19 i el gimnàs. En ambdós estudis de casos, els experts en salut pública van trobar que una combinació de mal uso de màscares, esforç respiratori elevat, manca de ventilació en un espai tancat i un contacte proper estès eren alguns dels possibles factors que facilitaven la transmissió. Tot això coincideix amb el que ja sabem sobre el coronavirus, que es propaga principalment a través de gotes respiratòries.
La forma més segura d’entrenar-se durant aquesta pandèmia és a casa o fora (per si mateix o només amb els altres membres de la seva llar). I tot i que el risc d’exposició d’assistir a una classe de condicionament físic amb altres persones mai serà zero, tal com va informar SELF, és possible fer l’escenari més segur movent-lo a l’exterior (o assegurant un flux d’aire suficient) i assegurant-se que tothom utilitza el distanciament físic adequat i porta màscares.