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It took the world about 100 days to go from 0 cases to 1 million detected cases. Then:
1 to 2 mil: 12 days
2 to 3 mil: 13 days
3 to 4 mil: 12 days
4 to 5 mil: 11 days
5 to 6 mil: 10 days
6 to 7 mil: 8 days
7 to 8 mil: 8 days
8 to 9 mil: 6 days
The pandemic is accelerating.
In an unusual experiment, researchers found no coronavirus infections among thousands of people allowed to return to their gyms. Randomized Re-Opening of Training Facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic
Like many countries, Norway ordered all gyms to close in March to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. But unlike any other nation, Norway also funded a rigorous study to determine whether the closings were really necessary.
It is apparently the first and only randomized trial to test whether people who work out at gyms with modest restrictions are at greater risk of infection from the coronavirus than those who do not. The tentative answer after two weeks: no.
So this week, responding to the study it funded, Norway reopened all of its gyms, with the same safeguards in place that were used in the study.
Is there hope for gymgoers in other parts of the world?
The trial, begun on May 22, included five gyms in Oslo with 3,764 members, ages 18 to 64, who did not have underlying medical conditions. Half of the members — 1,896 people — were invited to go back to their gyms and work out.
They were required to wash their hands and to maintain social distancing: three feet apart for floor exercises, and six feet apart in high-intensity classes. The subjects could use the lockers, but not the saunas or the showers. They were not asked to wear masks.
Another 1,868 gym members served as a comparison group; they were not permitted to return to their gyms.
During the two weeks of the study, 79.5 percent of the members invited to use their gyms went at least once, while 38.4 percent went more than six times. Some were overjoyed to restart their routines.
Over the study period, there were 207 new coronavirus cases in Oslo. Study participants and gym staff members were tested for the infection on June 8. (Antibody tests of participants are now being conducted.)
Dr. Bretthauer and Dr. Kalager also examined Norway’s extensive electronic health records database for outpatient visits and hospitalizations among the participants.
The results? The researchers found only one coronavirus case, in a person who had not used the gym before he was tested; it was traced to his workplace. Some participants visited hospitals, but for diseases other than Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus.
There was no difference in hospital visits between the groups, and there were no outpatient visits or hospitalizations because of the coronavirus. The findings were posted online on Thursday, but had not been peer-reviewed nor published.
Some experts felt the results demonstrated that returning to the gym was relatively safe — but only in places where there were few infections.