Unmasked jogger infected 39 people with Omicron in Chinese park, study finds

Dozens of cases were traced back to the 41-year-old man who spent half an hour running round a park in Chongqing in August

Most of those who became infected during the man’s run were also not wearing masks, researchers from China’s CDC find

Reading Time:3 minutes

Researchers said the only link between the runner and many of those infected was that they had been in the park at the same time. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 6:00pm, 29 Nov 2022Updated: 7:57pm, 29 Nov 2022

An unmasked jogger is thought to have infected 39 people with Covid-19 in the space of half an hour at a park in southwest China, according to a study by the local health authorities.

The 41-year-old man was the first known case of the Omicron subvariant BA.2.76 identified in Chongqing and had fatigue but no other symptoms when he went for a run at around 7am on August 16.

Only one of the people he infected had been wearing a mask.

The jogger spent about half an hour in the park, running four times round a lake on a 4-metre (13ft) wide jogging track. He did not talk to anyone, touch anything or use the toilet.

The temperature was more than 33 degrees Celsius (91.4 degrees Fahrenheit), with mild humidity and local wind speeds between 0.5 and 3 metres per second.

When the man reached home, he received a call from local health authorities and was told that a PCR test he had taken the previous day was positive.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x