Gyms around Australia are urging members to “stay calm” and “keep training” as they step up hygiene practices to try to fend off the threat of coronavirus.
In an email, Sydney and Melbourne-based KX Pilates studios reassured clients that “there is no cause for alarm” but encouraged them to cover their nose and mouth when coughing and wash their hands thoroughly.
Zane Clarke, at KX Pilates, where the equipment is wiped after use to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Credit:Janie Barrett
Zane Clarke is the area coordinator for KX Pilates’ Sydney studios.
“We sent out the email to let everyone know we were aware of what was happening and not to let it affect their training,” she said. “But it’s been business as usual. It really hasn’t affected us at all.”
A spokesperson from Fitness First Australia said they were increasing the frequency of sanitisation and cleaning at their clubs, providing additional hand sanitisers, encouraging hygiene practices and asking staff to declare their travel status.
“The health and wellbeing of our members and colleagues take top priority,” the spokesperson said.
Sydney’s Flow Athletic said they hoped that “everyone will stay calm, keep training and remain positive in how you go about your every day”.
They advised members, however, they had “increased [their] cleaning scope” focusing on hand rails, doors and floors.
They asked clients to bring a towel, wipe down equipment and stay away if they weren’t feeling well “coronavirus or not”.
A sign on a gym door in response to coronavirus.
Body Fit Training, with studios across Australia, also sent its members a notice urging them to “be as diligent as possible” and advising it was implementing “proactive disinfecting” before and during classes. Members were also asked to ditch high-fives.
Some gym owners said they were feeling the effects of the outbreak already, with one admitting they had been forced to cancel fitness retreats and gym events.
Numerous studies have found that gyms can be hot spots for bacteria and viruses. But Associate Professor Sanjaya Senanayake, an infectious diseases specialist at Australian National University, said gyms were likely to be “low-risk for COVID-19”.
“Gyms can be a place where infections can be picked up, but particularly with this virus, most people are sick, even though it’s mild … typically [with a] fever and a cough, and you would expect those people would not feel up to going to the gym.”
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If someone with the virus did go to the gym and “coughed and spluttered over the equipment,” Professor Senanayake said experts did know that coronaviruses could survive on certain hard surfaces for days.
“So it is possible that someone could touch that surface and then touch their eye or their nose and get infected,” he said.
He said it was unknown if the virus could be transmitted through sweat.
“But certainly when people exercise, they are wiping their brow, wiping their face, wiping their mouth. It is possible for those reasons they get virus particles on their hands and then touch a surface.”
How to stay safe at the gym
- Wipe equipment before and after use
- Wash or sanitise hands before and after using a piece of equipment
- Wipe your face with a towel, not your hands
- Minimise skin contact with others (e.g. high-fives)
- Steer clear of people who appear unwell
- Stay home if you are feeling sick
Professor Senanayake said risk could be minimised through “general gym etiquette”.
This includes using the spray bottles most gyms provide and a towel to wipe down surfaces before using equipment, in case the person before you has not, and again afterwards.
It’s also advised to use the hand wash or hand sanitiser provided in gyms before and after using equipment.
“Those measures, if they are taken, should make the chances of picking up COVID-19 at the gym pretty low,” Professor Senanayake said.
Sarah Berry is a lifestyle and health writer at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
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