As countries begin to reopen and governments continue to
ease restrictions, public spaces like gyms have started welcoming visitors,
while following strict social-distancing and hygiene measures. Yet despite governments
opening public facilities and letting up somewhat on social-distancing precautions,
epidemiologists around the world continue debating whether it is safe to return
to spaces like gyms amidst the pandemic.
A study conducted in Oslo, Norway, examining the risk of
coronavirus transmission among gym-goers, demonstrated that people who went to
a gym were not more exposed to contracting the virus when compared with people
who didn't go. The Norwegian government opened up gyms last week, based on the
results from this study, which has been published but has yet to go through
peer review.
Some epidemiologists have questioned the findings of the
Norwegian study, based on the premise that it was conducted when there were
very few reported cases of COVID-19 in Oslo. Mette Kalager, a clinical
epidemiologist at the University of Oslo and a lead scientist in the aforementioned
study, argues that a better approach towards reopening public spaces includes
carefully studying the impact after each new step of reopening is conducted.
The Science Magazine points out how the reopening of the majority of spaces
around the world has been done with little or no scientific investigation and
evidence to prove whether it is really safe for patrons to start using these
premises again.
Even though the study demonstrated that out of the 80
percent of participants who sent in their COVID-19 tests with only one of the
gym-goers testing positive for the coronavirus, there is no complete certainty
on whether opening up gyms is still safe.
Emily Smith, an epidemiologist at George Washington
University, argues that none of the people who went to the gym were sick, which
impedes scientists from knowing how the virus would spread if someone with
symptoms were to "take a spin class or share a gym locker with others." Mette
Kalager, who led the study in Oslo, established that the study cannot determine
whether it is safe to return to the gym in cities with high incidence of
coronavirus.
In the next trial, the research team at Oslo is planning to
compare the infection risk at newly opened gyms that are following strict
social distancing and hygiene measures and are welcoming a higher number of
guests. She argues that this will better illustrate whether it is safe to
continue opening gyms amidst the outbreak.
