BOSTON, MA-19 de octubre de 2020-Másresultados positivos para la industria mundial del fitness, ya que los datos de registro de los socios siguen demostrando que los clubes de salud no son los únicos focos de coronavirus, y las tasas de transmisión son bajas.

Estos tres países están trabajando para demostrar que -con la mitigación de riesgos en su lugar- los clubes de salud y fitness son seguros y de bajo riesgo para contraer COVID-19.

1. Australia – Data collected by Fitness Australia

Researchers gathered over 6.26 million check-ins from 423 gyms and fitness facilities across New South Wales from June 13 to August 11. Although the data show 13 cases of COVID-19 during this period, there have been zero reported community transmission cases.

Fitness Australia is a not-for-profit industry association that exists to professionalize the fitness industry by engaging in partnerships, advocacy, delivering education, quality, and accreditation. They support the industry to provide an environment for more Australians to adopt a healthy, active lifestyle.

2. England – Data collected by ukactive

The ukactive data, compiled from over 8 million member check-ins between July 25 to August 16, reports 17 cases of COVID-19. Of those cases, contraction did not happen at any of the 1,300 fitness facilities in the study.

ukactive is a not-for-profit industry association promoting commercial fitness gyms and community leisure centers in the United Kingdom. They exist to improve the nation’s health by getting more people, more active, more often.

3. U.S. – Data collected by IHRSA and MXM

The U.S. collected the most extensive sampling, with 2,873 fitness facilities taking part in IHRSA and MXM’s “visit-to-virus” ratio tracker. Of the 49.4 million member check-ins documented in the study, health clubs reported 1,155 cases, translating to a 0.0023% infection rate. Once again, none of the cases led to community transmission.

IHRSA, la International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, es una asociación comercial sin ánimo de lucro y una de las principales autoridades del mundo con la misión de hacer crecer, promover y proteger la industria de la salud y el fitness mediante la promoción del ejercicio regular y la actividad.

MXM is a “knowledge transfer company” that solely focuses on the fitness and wellness industry and a leading expert on Operational Member Experience Management.

Algunos factores limitan la capacidad de sacar conclusiones absolutas de estos estudios. Si bien este análisis no puede detectar la transmisión comunitaria relacionada con los clubes de salud, la infraestructura de salud pública que apoya el rastreo de contactos está desbordada en varias áreas, especialmente en presencia de una oleada de COVID-19.

Contact tracing is also not always thorough. In some U.S. states, response rates to contact tracing have been below 50%, with roughly half of participants refusing to provide information about their contacts or activities. The lack of data means the study cannot rule out community transmission in fitness centers not detected in the analysis. However, contact tracing data from several states and existing research support the findings here that clubs do not primarily drive COVID-19 transmission.

The risk is not—and can never be—zero for any business. Recently, a superspreader event occurred at a spin studio in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Emerging evidence suggests superspreader events are responsible for the majority of COVID-19 cases, with anywhere from 1-20% of cases contributing to 80% of the spread.

One positive point is that health and fitness centers have been open globally for months, and this is the first superspreader event to occur in the industry. The challenge is that events like these can affect any community location and are hard to predict. IHRSA outlines what we know about superspreader events, particularly the Hamilton case, in What the Fitness Industry Can Learn from a COVID-19 Outbreak.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently published a study examining what places were most likely visited by those testing for COVID-19—positive or not. Researchers found no statistically significant association between participants having a positive COVID-19 test result and visiting the gym. The study is not a resource to argue that clubs are virtually safe or unsafe, but it does provide insight into whether current guidelines effectively control the spread of COVID-19. A full analysis of the study is available for more information.

Es importante señalar que los resultados de los tres estudios de verificación tienen las mismas marcas:

• Cuando se aplican protocolos de mitigación de riesgos y de limpieza, las instalaciones de fitness son seguras para los socios, la comunidad y el personal.
• En general, los clubes de salud y fitness no son focos ni contribuyen de forma exclusiva a la propagación del coronavirus.

Acerca de la IHRSA

IHRSA, la International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, es una asociación comercial sin ánimo de lucro que representa a la industria mundial del fitness, formada por más de 200.000 instalaciones de salud y fitness y sus proveedores.

La IHRSA mantiene un papel de liderazgo en la promoción de la actividad física, que es fundamental para alcanzar un estado óptimo de salud y luchar contra la obesidad y las enfermedades crónicas relacionadas con el estilo de vida. Como una de las principales autoridades mundiales en el sector de los gimnasios comerciales, la misión de la IHRSA es hacer crecer, promover y proteger el sector de la salud y el fitness, al tiempo que proporciona beneficios y recursos a sus miembros. La IHRSA y sus miembros se dedican a hacer del mundo un lugar más feliz, más saludable y más próspero mediante la promoción del ejercicio y la actividad física regulares.