Wednesday, February 26, 2025, 8:55AM |  35°
MENU
Advertisement
Lenterra Daniels, an employee at Planet Fitness on Imperial Highway in Inglewood, Calif., disinfected an abdominal resistance machine in March.
1
MORE

How safe are indoor gyms during the omicron surge?

TNS

How safe are indoor gyms during the omicron surge?

LOS ANGELES — The rising risk of COVID-19 infection amid the omicron surge is causing public health officials and experts to advise more caution in indoor gyms, saying it is critical to mask up inside.

Several San Francisco Bay Area counties recently ordered mask mandates in indoor gyms, even if everyone inside is fully vaccinated. These counties — San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Sonoma and Marin — ended a limited exception to their local indoor mask rules that allowed gym members to not wear masks if the facility verified all guests were vaccinated.

Los Angeles County, with a vaccination rate less than that of many Bay Area counties, has long had a stricter indoor mask rule and has required indoor masking inside gyms since the summer, as the delta surge was picking up momentum. But not everyone adheres to the mask mandate, and compliance can be spotty.

Advertisement

Even with vaccination and masking requirements, different parts of gyms have varying degrees of risk. The least risky area is likely the weight room, given that users can spread out and stay distant from other people. The most risky area would be indoor classes, where people are in close proximity to one another and are heavily breathing out respiratory particles, according to University of California, San Francisco infectious diseases expert Dr. Peter Chin-Hong. An area with moderate risk — somewhere between that of the weight room and indoor gym classes — would be around the treadmills.

Dr. Chin-Hong said he’s more comfortable with indoor gym classes where everyone is vaccinated and masked, and is not comfortable in scenarios where attendees are either unmasked or potentially not vaccinated.

Even if everyone is masked most of the time, but there’s no vaccine verification requirement, the omicron surge gives Dr. Chin-Hong pause about indoor gym classes since the variant can result in a large number of asymptomatic but potentially contagious people.

“I’m just a little bit more uncertain about it with omicron because there’s so much more virus particles and it can linger there for probably a little bit longer,” Dr. Chin-Hong said.

Advertisement

An indoor spin class in the current surge is particularly risky, especially if people there are unvaccinated. “Everyone’s close together ... and it’s a class situation, where you can’t really socially distance,” Dr. Chin-Hong said. People might be wearing less effective masks, like cloth masks, or loose masks that aren’t tightly fitting, that would allow the particles from their lungs to spill out into the air quickly.

Early data suggest that the coronavirus can hang around in an indoor setting for an hour or two, staying even after a contagious person has left the area.

Dr. Chin-Hong said he’d rather wait for the current surge to be over before returning to indoor gym classes.

Another way to reduce risk in gyms would be to go during less crowded times.

UCLA medical epidemiologist and infectious diseases expert Dr. Robert Kim-Farley agreed that people who are vaccinated, boosted and masked can feel more comfortable going into indoor gyms where proof of vaccination is required and people are complying with mask rules.

Dr. Kim-Farley also recommended spacing people out at the gym, and ensuring that good ventilation systems can reduce the risk of transmission.

First Published: January 9, 2022, 11:00 a.m.

RELATED
SHOW COMMENTS (0)  
Join the Conversation
Commenting policy | How to Report Abuse
If you would like your comment to be considered for a published letter to the editor, please send it to letters@post-gazette.com. Letters must be under 250 words and may be edited for length and clarity.
Partners
Advertisement
The two Franks worked with pizza legends Chris Bianco and Chad Robertson to perfect their craft.
1
life
A beloved pizzeria is expanding beyond Brooklyn. First stop, Mt. Lebanon.
Shoppers walk down Walnut St. near Filbert St. in Shadyside on April 9, 2024. Banana Republic, whose presence in the neighborhood dates back to at least 1995, will end its long run March 31, joining other longtime staples who have left the neighborhood.
2
business
After three decades, Banana Republic in Shadyside to close March 31
Superintendent Wayne Walters speaks in front of the school board at the Pittsburgh Public Schools Feasibility Report presentation meeting at the district administration building in Oakland Tuesday, Feb 25, 2025.
3
news
Pittsburgh Public Schools throws support behind proposed school closure plan
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 07: Alex Nedeljkovic #39 of the Pittsburgh Penguins makes a first period sav against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on February 07, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
4
sports
Penguins show shockingly little life as Flyers blow them out, hand them fourth straight loss
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid shake hands after a game at Acrisure Stadium on Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, on the North Shore. The Kansas City Chiefs won 29-10.
5
sports
Jason Mackey: You expected to see changes with Steelers this offseason? Sorry about that
Lenterra Daniels, an employee at Planet Fitness on Imperial Highway in Inglewood, Calif., disinfected an abdominal resistance machine in March.  (TNS)
TNS
Advertisement
LATEST news
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story