COVID-19 studies highlight importance of mask use in gym settings
A coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak at a Chicago gym is prompting health officials to reaffirm the need for social distancing and mask wearing indoors to prevent the spread of infection.
In August of 2020, 55 COVID-19 cases were reported among 81 attendees of high-intensity classes at an unnamed Chicago exercise facility, with 22 of those people attending a session on or after the day symptoms began, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a report Wednesday.
The majority of attendees — 76% — wore masks infrequently, the CDC said.
Heavy breathing during strenuous activities in enclosed spaces facilitates transmission of the coronavirus, the CDC has found, and previous studies by the agency pointed to exercise facilities being a potential vector for viral spread.
The Chicago gym, according to the CDC, offered between four and eight daily high-intensity classes at the facility at or below 25% capacity — between 10 and 15 people total — between Aug. 24, 2020 and Sept. 1, 2020.
Mask use, temperature checks and symptom screenings were required on entry, but participants were allowed to remove masks during exercise while socially-distanced, the CDC said.
An attendee of the gym notified the facility of a positive test result on Sept. 1, with symptom onset lining up with the last exercise class the person attended on Aug. 28, according to the report. The facility then closed for 13 days and informed attendees of their possible COVID-19 exposure.
During a routine investigation, the Chicago Department of Public Health discovered a cluster of cases linked to the facility, which was already aware of 41 people who either had COVID-19 symptoms or positive test results.
Overall, 43 people attended an exercise class during their estimated infectious periods, the investigation found.
The facility’s ventilation system was not assessed, the CDC said, but inadequate air circulation would have worsened transmission in the building — which the agency said was not originally designed for exercise classes.
“This outbreak reinforces the need for combined COVID-19 prevention strategies, including universal mask use in public settings when persons are with others who do not live in the same household, especially indoors,” the CDC wrote in its report.
The Chicago Department of Public Health attributed the outbreak to the high number of attendees who participated in the class while symptomatic, or asymptomatic while being infectious, said the CDC, which recommended avoiding gatherings while waiting for a COVID-19 test result.
In another study released by the CDC Wednesday, 21 infections were linked to a single 37-year-old fitness instructor in Hawaii who taught at multiple facilities and developed symptoms of COVID-19 in June of last year.
Just hours before the man reported his first symptoms, he taught a stationary cycling class for one hour on June 29 where none of the 10 participants wore masks.
Every one of those participants tested positive in early July, said the CDC, including one 46-year-old man who was also a fitness instructor who became severely ill and required hospitalization in an intensive care unit.
However, 12 hours before that instructor experienced his first symptoms, he held several small kickboxing sessions, with 10 people becoming infected, according to the CDC.
To reduce the spread of the virus, facilities should improve ventilation and enforce consistent and correct mask use while also maintaining physical distance, the CDC noted. Additionally, gyms should remind infected employees and attendees to stay home and away from others for at least 10 days after symptom onset or after a positive test result.
Moving exercise activities outdoors, when possible, or creating virtual sessions would further reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission, the CDC said.
- 26-Feb-2021
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