Will gyms be safe when they reopen in North Carolina? Here’s what experts say
Fitness gurus may be eager to get back in gyms when they reopen in North Carolina, but questions remain about their safety amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Gyms were originally among the businesses that would be allowed to reopen this week — with restrictions — when North Carolina moved into Phase Two of its reopening plan. But Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday that the state will enter a modified version of Phase Two Friday afternoon — under which gyms, and other facilities, will remain closed.
It remains unclear exactly when they will reopen in the state. But when they do, will it be safe to go during the pandemic? Here’s what experts say.
In general, gyms tend to be good places for germs to spread, experts tell The New York Times.
“When you have a relatively high density of people exercising and sweating in a contained space, you have conditions where communicable diseases can spread easily,” Dr. James Voos, chairman of orthopedic surgery at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and senior author of a study on pathogens in training facilities, told the Times.
Additionally, social distancing can be difficult to maintain at gyms.
Dr. Marybeth Sexton, infectious disease expert and professor at Emory University in Georgia, told TODAY that the main concern with going to the gym right now is being in “close contact” with people breathing heavily and potentially coughing or sneezing.
“There’s been some simulation that looks like particles might travel farther than that when people are strenuously exercising, but we don’t know a lot about how that applies in the real world or clinically in terms of being contagious,” Sexton told TODAY.
But Sexton tells TODAY that gyms are “by definition a tricky place” to effectively social distance as it’s hard to space out equipment and hard to work out while wearing a mask.
“You’re almost inevitably going to be in a place that’s relatively enclosed with other people and you don’t know their exposures or their symptoms,” she said, according to TODAY. “We do know you can be contagious before you have symptoms.”
Shared equipment also creates an issue as it can be difficult to keep clean, experts say.
For example, dumbbells and kettle bells “are high-touch metal, with strange shapes and many different places people can grasp,” Dr. Deverick Anderson, professor of medicine and director of the Duke Center for Antimicrobial Stewardship and Infection Prevention at Duke University, told The New York Times. “They are not easy to clean.”
Henry Raymond, associate director for the Center for COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness at Rutgers University in New Jersey, told NJ.com that people will ultimately have to make their own decisions about going back to the gym.
“I think people have to make their personal decisions on what risks they are willing to take,” he told the outlet. “I hope as people do that calculation in their heads, they think not just about themselves and their freedom but what it means for the people around them and the community as a whole.”
For those who decide to go back to the gym, there are ways to stay safe, McClatchy News reports.
These include wearing a mask if you can stand it, especially if equipment is close together, trying to go during less busy times, bringing your own towels and water bottle, and practicing social distancing.
Additionally, experts tell TODAY it’s important to wipe down all equipment before and after using it.
“What it comes down to is that the risks will never be zero,” Dr. Anderson told the Times.
But he acknowledged that there are mental and physical benefits to working out.
“So, my approach is that I will accept some risk but be aware of the steps I need to take to mitigate it. And then, yes, I will go back.”
This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 1:36 PM with the headline "Will gyms be safe when they reopen in North Carolina? Here’s what experts say."
