This Burlington doctor quit taking spin classes. Here's why

Dr. Diana Ahmed was in the midst of a spin class roughly three weeks ago when she looked around and realized she was in what she callsa "COVID incubator."

"There's no windows. The door is closed. I have no idea what the ventilation is like," the Burlington-based family physician said.

"Spinning is a very vigorous activity, people are breathing really hard, and part of spinning is that the instructor is kind of yelling and then you sing and yell back. And I thought 'oh my God, these are all the risks for spreading the virus.'"

It was at that point, taking into account the rising number of COVID-19 cases in her community, that Ahmed decided to stop taking spin classes. Instead, she resolved to attend lower risk activities the facility had to offer, like yoga.

Ahmed saysthe province shouldmake COVID-19 guidelines more clear and more specific, particularly for fitness facilities.

"I think there's too much variability right now that's being left to individual gyms," she said.

Consider masking, ventilation

Ahmed stopped spinning at her Burlington gym about a week before Oct.5, when a COVID-19 outbreak was declared at Spincoin Hamilton. As of Wednesday, public health officials said 81 cases of the virus could be traced back to Spinco.

Ontario is reviewing guidelines meant to stop the spread of the virus in fitness settings, and Hamilton public health has issued some tips in the meantime. Thoseinclude expanding physical distancing to three meters, ensuring ventilation, wearing masks throughout workouts, and limiting rooms to 10 people including staff.

Those are some of the things Ahmed would like the province to consider.

"You've got gyms where people have to mask all the time. You have gyms where people don't have to mask," she pointed out. "You have studios with windows and lots of physical distancing [and] you've got studios where people are probably less than 1.8 meters [apart]."

Ahmed doesn't want to see a sweeping ban on all spin classes, but does want specific recommendations related to the number of people per class, the kind of ventilation that exists, and if people have to wear a mask while exercising or not.

Learning from Spinco

"I definitely don't think people should be yelling and singing in any class," she said.

And if it comes down to closing gyms or shutting down specific high risk activities that they might offer, she suggests the latter.

"I really wish public health was more nuanced in these approaches. I feel bad for entire industries that are getting shut down maybe other activities that are not considered as high risk could be open, and that's a way to keep businesses going."

Jacqueline Durlov, spokesperson for Hamilton Public Health Services, said public health isurging the province this month to review its guidelines.

"The Spincooutbreak definitely showed us the potential risks of this type of activity and will likely contribute to a change in guidelines and practices moving forward," she said.

Everything carries risk

Ahmed encouragespeople to carry out their own activity risk assessments.

"I know this is really hard for people, but I just think there's nothing that's absolutely zero risk," she explained. "I'm really trying to get people to think about their individual risks, how old they are, what their other health conditions are, are they around other vulnerable people."

Local case counts should also play a role in that assessment, she said.

For example, when Ahmed decided to take spin classes in the summer, she said there were 22 active cases in Burlington. According to the most recent data from Halton Region Public Health, there are 91 active cases in the city as of Tuesday.

"I don't think going to gyms is necessarily a high risk activity. I think some conditions make it higher risk and we need to look at those conditions."