dr. nazeem muhajarine, professor of community health and epidemiology at the university of saskatchewan,
previously told healthing that returning to a gym all comes down to a personal perception of risk.
while heavy breathing comes with exercise, he said the risk depends on the space. “how big is the floor space? how high are the ceilings? what is the ventilation system? are the doors open?”
other risk factors include shared equipment and loud talking — in some classes, an instructor may shout over music or the sound of equipment to be heard, or to motivate the people exercising.
not all spaces operate the same, and some workout classes are possibly even higher risk. an indoor spinning studio in hamilton, ont., was
linked to a covid-19 outbreak, even though the facility followed provincial health guidelines.
but even with risk-mitigation tactics, such as defined workout spaces that allow for physical distancing and cleaning down equipment, a strong ventilation system is crucial. sars-cov-2 spreads through both droplets and aerosols, and improving the quality of air filtration reduces the transmission risk, siegel says.
“not every gym owner controls the hvac system — there’s a lot of rented spaces — but i would hope that the people who are running gyms are adding ventilation where it’s possible,” he says.
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