A coach at 460 Fitness, a Virginia gym, was tested positive for Covide-19, but not before leading a week of class early October, putting at least 50 other athletes at risk of the potentially contagious particles. Yet, not a single athlete at the gym was infected.
This is because one of their members, Dr Linsey Marr, a world-renowned expert on aerosol transmission at Virginia Tech, who specializes in how the coronavirus and similar pathogens travel through the air, was able to work with the gym owner in rearranging the gym to make it as coronavirus-proof as possible.
Marr worked with the gym owner, Velvet Minnick, throughout the summer to ensure that the high-intensity, CrossFit-style workout area was as safe as possible for all gym users. She told Insider that “good airflow, proper planning, and plenty of social distance make all the difference in helping to ensure enthusiasm is the only thing contagious at the gym”.
As 460 Fitness is located in a warehouse space with large, garage-style doors that roll open, Marr calculated the optimal outside-air ventilation necessary for the gym.
Anecdote from my gym: 1 infected coach, 50 exposed athletes, 0 known transmission events. Owner Velvet Minnick implemented strict distancing, ventilation, and hygiene policies. At least 10 feet between athletes and lots of open doors (circled in red) during workouts. Brr, winter. pic.twitter.com/70iN5KpnXA
— Linsey Marr (@linseymarr) October 8, 2020
Workout layout was expanded to being at least 10 feet apart from each people instead of the usual six. This is because six feet is not enough when people are breathing heavily throughout their heavy and intense workout, expelling potentially contagious particles into the air.
“It’s likely that intense exercise is riskier because people produce more aerosols when they're breathing faster and harder," Marr said.
Compared to a recent case at a spin studio in Canada, where an asymptomatic person was linked to at least 85 other Covid-19 cases, 460 Fitness is a stark contrast.
"The ventilation for sure was the difference," Marr told Insider.
"I think we need to spend at least half of our time and effort on cleaning the air rather than cleaning surfaces," she said.
Unfortunately, many gyms may not have access large and numerous windows and doors, nor a specialized expert to help rearrange the gym, but Insider has listed a few strategies gyms can use to minimize the risk of outbreaks.
1. Minimize contact with other people.
"The number one thing I can say is to avoid crowds. If you can go when it's not crowded, it's much safer," Marr said.
2. Get outside air into the gym or mandate masks indoors.
While wearing a mask is not the most ideal and the most comfortable during your workout, Marr said that “the initial sense of straining to breathe does fade over time.”
3. Get a carbon dioxide detector
Investing in a portable carbon dioxide detector would be good to measure the carbon dioxide in the air. “More carbon dioxide in the air means all those exhalations have built up in the space, and you're more likely to be surrounded by other people's respiratory particles (and potential contagions).”
This helps gauge how well the air is flowing and what the risks of viral transmission might be. – Insider, November 12, 2020
