COVID-19 Outbreak Among Attendees of an Exercise Facility — Chicago, Illinois, August–September 2020

The Impact of Face Masks on Performance and Physiological Outcomes during Exercise: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

“…The use of masks has been recommended by some for prevention of virus spread (Chu et al, 2020;Hendrix et al 2020); however, the World Health Organization has stated that masks not be worn during vigorous physical activity due to "…the risk of reducing your breathing capacity" (https://www.who.int). This is in contrast to recent recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the USA who now endorse face masks while exercising in fitness facilities given recent evidence they may reduce virus spread in these facilities (Lendacki et al, 2021). The spread of viruses appears to be heightened in enclosed fitness or sport facilities due to close proximity of individuals, relatively small spaces, and heavy breathing during exercise (Atrubin et al, 2020;Jang et al, 2020;Lendacki et al, 2021).…”

“…This is in contrast to recent recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the USA who now endorse face masks while exercising in fitness facilities given recent evidence they may reduce virus spread in these facilities (Lendacki et al, 2021). The spread of viruses appears to be heightened in enclosed fitness or sport facilities due to close proximity of individuals, relatively small spaces, and heavy breathing during exercise (Atrubin et al, 2020;Jang et al, 2020;Lendacki et al, 2021).…”

“…Face masks have been recommended for preventing the spread of viruses (Chu et al, 2020;Hendrix et al 2020). The potential for spread of infections may be exacerbated during exercise due to heavy breathing, especially indoors such as in fitness (Jang et al, 2020;Lendacki et al, 2021) and sport centres (Atrubin et al, 2020). However, controversy exists when using masks during exercise.…”

Safety protocols in an exercise facility result in no detectable SARS‐CoV‐2 spread: A case study

“…The first cluster reported in an exercise facility included 25 primary cases of COVID-19 that spread to 14 additional individuals in the same facility, which is considered the second highest infection rate in Japan as of March 21 (Amagasa et al, 2020). Moreover, Lendacki et al, (2021) revealed a COVID-19 outbreak at a Chicago exercise facility where 68% (55/81) of participants practicing in-person exercise classes between August 24 and September 1 contracted the virus. Participants had to wear a mask, have their temperature taken, and symptoms were monitored on entry (Lendacki et al, 2021).…”

“…Moreover, Lendacki et al, (2021) revealed a COVID-19 outbreak at a Chicago exercise facility where 68% (55/81) of participants practicing in-person exercise classes between August 24 and September 1 contracted the virus. Participants had to wear a mask, have their temperature taken, and symptoms were monitored on entry (Lendacki et al, 2021). However, most of them did not follow the requirement of mask use during exercise and room ventilation was not assessed in the study (Lendacki et al, 2021).…”