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US study finds coronavirus spreads rapidly in gyms when masks not worn
- The US CDC traced two coronavirus outbreaks at fitness centres, where indoor classes and instructors created super-spreader events
- Researchers recommended improving ventilation, enforcing mask use and physical distancing, and increasing hand-hygiene
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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging stricter precautions for gym-goers after tracing coronavirus outbreaks to fitness centres in Hawaii and Chicago that left dozens of patrons with Covid-19.
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The findings, detailed in two papers published this week in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, highlight the risks of indoor fitness activities, particularly when guidelines about mask-wearing and social distancing are not enforced.
But even when worn properly, face masks may not do enough to mitigate the risk of indoor group classes, said Dr Larry William Chang, an infectious diseases specialist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who was not involved in the research.
“I personally would never join a group class in an enclosed space with poor ventilation,” Chang said. “I think that’s just a recipe for disaster.”
The first of the two outbreak cases took place in Hawaii and began in late June after two fitness instructors – one apparently infected by the other – transmitted the virus to patrons before developing any symptoms of Covid-19.
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