{"id":9042,"date":"2020-03-17T02:19:50","date_gmt":"2020-03-17T01:19:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/?p=9042"},"modified":"2020-03-18T17:20:23","modified_gmt":"2020-03-18T16:20:23","slug":"exercise-and-infectious-diseases-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/2020\/03\/17\/exercise-and-infectious-diseases-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Exercise and Infectious Diseases \u2013 Covid-19"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By F\u00e1bio Hech Dominski1<\/sup> and Bruno Hech Dominski2<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

We are experiencing an outbreak of Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19), characterized by a respiratory illness that results from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection (CDC, 2020). The outbreak of COVID-19 is increasing worldwide and is now a global pandemic. The COVID-19 was first reported from Wuhan, China, on 31 December 2019. Most cases are in China (81,048 cases), following by Italy (21,157), and Iran (12,729), and there are 146 countries, areas or territories with cases. To prevent the virus from spreading, infection control measures are necessary (Meng, Hua, Bian, 2020), and effective public health messaging to a community is essential to gain social support to contain the disease (Stratton, 2020).<\/p>\n

We know that the most effective way to avoid infection is good personal hygiene and healthy habits, and today we\u2019d like to give focus to the fundamental role of physical activity<\/strong>. Regular physical activity reduces the risk of a person contracting a communicable diseases (such as viral and bacterial infections) by enhancing the person’s immune system’s ability to regulate itself. Therefore, we should maintain our exercise regimes during this period, because it improves our immune system’s competency (Campbell, Turner, 2018).<\/p>\n

Be physically active, but try to avoid gyms<\/strong><\/p>\n

We would, however, like to bring to your attention that gyms may be considered a high-risk zone <\/b>(ABC, 2020). Although COVID-19 management protocols already exist for dental practitioners in dental settings (Meng, Hua, Bian, 2020), we have not seen a published paper on COVID-19 in environments used for exercise and sports to-date. Evidence indicates that the risk of infection (influenza and tuberculosis) for individuals participating in physical activity indoors increases during peak-times, when the ventilation required by those training is greater (Andrade et al. 2018). Keeping rooms dedicated to indoor physical activity well ventilated is therefore a recommended protective measure (Sun et al., 2020).<\/p>\n

If you do plan to use the gym, it’s best to avoid periods of peak occupancy (usually at night). We also recommend that you:<\/p>\n