- Title
- First documented gymnasium cluster of COVID-19 with whole genome sequencing in Australia
- Creator
- Ravindran, Bhavi; Gatens, Elizabeth; Pal, Naru; Sheppeard, Vicky; Calik, Anna; Alexander, Kate; Ashraf, Khizar; Arnott, Alicia; Sintchenko, Vitali; Dalton, Craig B.
- Relation
- Communicable Diseases Intelligence Vol. 47, no. 55
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.33321/cdi.2023.47.55
- Publisher
- Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2023
- Description
- Background: Transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been demonstrated in fitness settings internationally. We report the first documented case of transmission of COVID-19 in a gymnasium in Australia in 2020. Methods: Case finding and case interviews were conducted among attendees in a Western Sydney gymnasium, Australia. Whole genome sequencing using an amplicon-based approach was performed on all SARS CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction positive samples detected through surveillance. Results: We show that five cases of COVID-19 were linked to the gymnasium, with transmission occurring on 7 July 2020, when the index case transmitted the infection to four other gymnasium attendees through the sharing of an enclosed space. Conclusions: There is an ongoing risk of transmission of COVID-19 within gymnasium environments and they are justifiably classified as a ‘high-risk’ venue. There may be a need to expand ventilation and space requirements to prevent transmission of COVID-19 in such settings in the context of severe COVID-19 variants or to prevent respiratory disease transmission in general.
- Subject
- SARS virus; risk factors; gymnasium; coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Australia; public health; SDG 3; Sustainable Development Goals
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1494992
- Identifier
- uon:53941
- Identifier
- ISSN:0725-3141
- Language
- eng
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