Gym Trainer Exposes 50 Athletes To COVID-19; No One Got Sick

A Virginia gym managed to avoid a COVID-19 outbreak despite at least 50 people reportedly being exposed to a coach who was infected.

Dr. Linsey Marr worked with 460 Fitness owner Velvet Minnick to ensure gym members and trainers would be safe while doing CrossFit-inspired workouts, Insider.com reports. Marr, who identifies herself in her Twitter bio as an "intellectual omnivore and avid recreation athlete," told Insider ventilation and spaced out areas were essential for preventing the spread of COVID-19 in gyms.

She said she calculated optimal ventilation for the gym and various wind scenarios based on the facility's warehouse space layout. 460 Fitness has garage-style doors that roll open, which create comparable airflow to being outside and gym. Additionally, gym members are mandated to spread out at least 10 feet away from each other, instead of the typical recommendation of six feet.

Marr said the 6-foot recommendation is based on an outdated concept and doesn't account for heavy breathing and expelling of potentially contagious airborne particles that could be present in a gym.

"It's likely that higher intensity exercise is riskier because people produce more aerosols when they're breathing faster and harder," Marr said.

Last month, Marr announced the gym's prevented transmission of COVID-19 from an infected coach to 50 exposed athletes.

"Anecdote from my gym: 1 infected coach, 50 exposed athletes, 0 known transmission events," Marr tweeted. "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."

Marr credits the ventilation for preventing a potential outbreak, like many other gym's have seen amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A spin studio Canada linked an asymptomatic person to at least 85 other cases of coronavirus among trainers, clients and relatives, TheStar.com reports.

"I think we need to spend at least half of our time and effort on cleaning the air rather than cleaning surfaces," Marr said.

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