Thread by @DavidLat, I was in good shape before I came down with #COVID19 -- [...]

I was in good shape before I came down with #COVID19 -- and I suspect I might have contracted the #coronavirus at the gym, to which I was going multiple times a week. https://twitter.com/AnaCabrera/status/1284203797934419968">https://twitter.com/AnaCabrer...

https://twitter.com/AnaCabrera/status/1284203797934419968

It& #39;s true my marathon-running days were in the distant past (I finished the NYC marathon twice) -- but I was still in good shape before #COVID19 landed me in the hospital for almost 3 weeks, including 6 days in the ICU on a ventilator, in critical condition.

I was not overweight, I went to the gym three to six times a week, and all my blood work at my annual physical was normal. Here are my before and after #COVID photos (I lost 15 pounds while sick):

Of course, I& #39;m just one person, I had a history of asthma (although well managed), and the likelihood of any given healthy individual having a severe case of #COVID19 is low. That& #39;s all true.

#COVID #Covid_19 #coronavirus

But you don& #39;t necessarily know in advance how susceptible you are to #COVID19. Sometimes it& #39;s healthy people with strong immune systems who experience the "cytokine storm" that threw me for a loop.

#COVID #Covid_19 #coronavirus

I remember telling friends over dinner before I got sick, "For many people, #COVID19 is just a bad flu -- I can deal with that."

I turned out to be very, very wrong.

#Covid_19 #COVID #COVID__19 #coronavirus

And, to my great regret, I might have given the #coronavirus to others at the gym, as well as having gotten it at the gym. https://twitter.com/HarmlessErr_er/status/1284234681316184066">https://twitter.com/HarmlessE...

https://twitter.com/HarmlessErr_er/status/1284234681316184066

I did a high-intensity interval training class during a period when I was probably contagious with #COVID19 (but not really symptomatic yet). So I was in a packed exercise studio with lots of other people, panting like crazy (because it was a HIIT class).

We were pretty stupid about #COVID19 in early March.

And, sadly, we might be pretty stupid about #COVID today.

Look, I really loved going to the gym. I still miss it today.

But here& #39;s one thing I don& #39;t understand about @GovRonDeSantis& #39;s not closing gyms.

It& #39;s FLORIDA, where you can exercise OUTDOORS, which is much safer than the gym, YEAR-ROUND.

I understand the "let people make their own decision" argument about the gym. And I& #39;m not unsympathetic to such perspectives. I don& #39;t hate freedom, and I don& #39;t like paternalism.

But the problem is the externalities.

#COVID #COVID19 #Covid_19 #coronavirus

Maybe young, healthy gym goers are willing to assume the risk for themselves. If they get #COVID19, maybe we won& #39;t feel as bad for them.

But we still need to treat them if they get sick, which will increase the burden on hospitals.

#Covid_19 #coronavirus

And it& #39;s quite likely they& #39;ll give it to older or more vulnerable people, especially in reopened states where more interaction is taking place. They& #39;ll get sick in turn, further taxing the hospitals and healthcare system.

#COVID19 #coronavirus

We do have evidence suggesting #COVID19 transmission through exercise classes or facilities can happen.

Check out this study, "Cluster of #Coronavirus Disease Associated with Fitness Dance Classes."

https://bit.ly/2WuLkgz ">https://bit.ly/2WuLkgz&q...

#COVID #Covid_19

Transmission of COVID-19 in South Korea. - CEBM

The transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in South Korea was exacerbated by super spreading events in confined settings, including a hospital, a church and a gym.

https://bit.ly/2WuLkgz

So, with all due respect to folks who feel differently, it seems to me that keeping gyms open in a state where #COVID19 cases and deaths are rising seems... unwise.

https://n.pr/2OCL7TW

https://n.pr/2OCL7TW&q... href="https://twtext.com//hashtag/COVID"> #COVID #COVID19 #coronavirus

Florida Sees Its 4th Day Running With More Than 100 COVID-19 Deaths

Florida's death count from COVID-19 continues to be in the triple-digits as coronavirus cases continue to surge in many parts of the state.

https://n.pr/2OCL7TW

A personal perspective from a former gym janitor: https://twitter.com/Nobody5000/status/1284312801683468288">https://twitter.com/Nobody500...

https://twitter.com/Nobody5000/status/1284312801683468288

In response to the "you were stupid/selfish to go to the gym" tweets: YES, I WAS, and I sure wish I hadn& #39;t!

But just for context, I contracted #coronavirus in late February or early March. It was a very different time in #COVID19 history.

When I started showing #COVID symptoms, there were about 50 confirmed cases in NYC -- a city of 8.5 million.

I was one of the first 1,000 cases in New York State, which has now had more than 410,000 confirmed cases.

#COVID19 #COVID__19 #coronavirus

Experts were still telling people that wearing masks wasn& #39;t necessary.

@NYGovCuomo& #39;s #StayAtHome

https://abs.twimg.com/hashflags... draggable="false" alt=""> order didn& #39;t come down until weeks later.

I was the 8th or so #COVID19 patient at @NYULangone, which went on to tread 100s (if not 1000s) of patients.

When I called my primary care doctor and asked about #coronavirus, they told me I most likely had a flu that had turned into bronchitis, and gave me some antibiotics and cough syrup.

(Yes, I& #39;m getting a new primary-care doctor.)

#COVID #COVID19 #Covid_19

So although it was stupid and selfish of me to have gone to the gym, I was making a mistake that many other New Yorkers were making in late February and early March -- which is partly why New York got hit so badly by #coronavirus.

#COVID #COVID19 #Covid_19

It is more stupid and selfish to make the same mistake today.

And I sure wish that some elected official had told me, in late February or early March, "SORRY, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO GO TO THE GYM."

#coronavirus #COVID #COVID19 #Covid_19

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