If you haven’t hit the gym much during the pandemic, a shot (or a surge in vaccination rates in your area) may be enough to get you back. But how safe is your gym really? Here are some signs to look out for to make sure your risk of exposure to COVID-19 is minimal.
And yes, if you are vaccinated you can assume that your risk of contracting COVID-19 is minimal anyway, but people have different risk tolerances. No vaccine is perfect and There have been cases of people who received the vaccine but had a breakthrough infection. So we understand if you still want to be careful.
Make sure you have proper ventilation in your gym
The virus that causes COVID-19 can hanging in the air in tiny dropletsand these droplets collect in stuffy rooms. Ventilation is one of the most important ways to reduce the risk of spreading the virus in a large public space like a gym.
So watch out for signs of air flowing in and out of the room. Having the doors and windows open on opposite sides of the room is great. If the class is outdoors, or if there is an outdoor area of the gym, this is even better.
You can also ask gym management what upgrades they have made to their ventilation system. If they are using good quality filters, have a full blown of air about every 10 minutes, or know their carbon dioxide levels, these are signs that they are taking ventilation seriously.
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Other good signs, virus transmission expert Linsey Marr told the New York Times, are high ceilings, portable air purifiers, and people who are at least 10 feet apart. If you can smell other people, it is a signal that the air is not circulating well.
Masks still help when you’re indoors, including at the gym
Following the CDC’s announcement that vaccinated people can safely do without masks in public places, many gyms that required masks dropped this requirement for vaccinated people. Some gyms only have a sign on their door and operate on an honor system; others track members’ vaccination status and enforce the mask rule.
Ideally people who are not vaccinated should still wear a mask when exercising, including during actual exercise. Yes, masks make the workout uncomfortable, but when you breathe heavily you expel more and smaller droplets into the air than when you are standing in the lobby.
You can also wear a mask to protect yourself even if you have been vaccinated for extra protection. While we thought at the beginning of the pandemic that masks only helped protect others, there is good evidence of this They also protect the wearer.
Cleaning logs aren’t that important to COVID gym safety
COVID-19 is transmitted primarily through the air and through close contact with others (such as face-to-face) and likely rarely, if ever, through contact with surfaces.
However, this does not mean that cleaning and disinfecting are useless. A gym should continue to regularly clean surfaces and provide members with wipes to clean the equipment after use. This not only applies to COVID, but also because other infections can be transmitted via surfaces – like the as MRSA.
