Julia Smith woke up on Saturday aching all over, feeling like something was sitting on top of her.
The 53-year-old figured she had just pushed herself too hard during a recent workout but, when the symptoms didn’t go away, a friend suggested she get tested for COVID-19.
Smith was tested the next day and contacted her Hamilton spin studio, Spinco, to tell staff know she had symptoms of the virus.
She found out Wednesday that she had tested positive — one of 72 cases linked to the spin studio to date.
“It’s been horrendous,” she said of COVID-19 Thursday.
“Unbelievable fatigue, basically sleeping all day, all night. I had a lot of sinus pain as well. It’s just the unbelievably heavy chest, really painful, and the body aches.”
Forty-seven primary cases (45 patrons, two staff members) and 25 secondary “household spread” cases, such as friends, family or other contacts, have been connected to the outbreak at the James Street North location as of Thursday.
Based on a list of cases provided by Spinco, Smith believes she contracted the virus during a morning class on Sept. 29, and said she did not attend any other classes between that day and finding out she was infected.
Everyone she was in contact with 48 hours before she started feeling symptoms has tested negative, she said.
Riders shocked by spread
Despite becoming infected with the virus and being shocked at the size of the outbreak, Smith does not blame the studio or its owners Dr. Ira Price and Naz Zarezadegan — and she’s not alone.
Like Smith, Gabby Gianetti has been riding at Spinco since its Hamilton location opened at the start of the year.
The 30-year-old said she was also surprised when she read an email saying COVID-19 may have infected her during a class at the studio.
But, unlike Smith, Gianetti tested negative.
“I’m shocked [the outbreak] has exploded,” she said.
“I felt really safe there, I felt like practices were really great, with cleaning and distancing. I felt really great about going there.”
The COVID-19 outbreak at Spinco on James Street North in Hamilton has infected at least 72 people. (Bobby Hristova/CBC)
Both women described temperature checks, answering screening questions from staff and being directed to wear a mask and maintain physical distancing anytime they weren’t on a bike.
The bikes themselves were separated by at least two metres, as participants pedalled fast and hard. A coach would instruct loudly using a headset microphone, with music keeping the riders moving.
Gianetti added that staff consistently encouraged people to stay home if they or their household were feeling unwell and riders were told their membership could be put on hold without charge.
Even with those precautions, someone who attended classes between Sept. 28 and Oct. 5 had COVID-19.
Public health said on Oct. 6 it infected two customers and a staff member. The number of people who have tested positive has ballooned ever since.
Spinco pauses classes at Ontario studios
It’s sad for Gianetti. She knows some may criticize the people who participated in the spin classes, even if she feels Spinco did everything they could to keep customers safe.
“I really love going there, to be honest. It’s a really good environment to be in. They’re really uplifting and motivating, it’s really good exercise and … it’s really good anxiety release,” Gianetti said.
“The owners are a nurse and a physician, they were so strict about everything … I’m shocked it happened to them.”
Price and Zarezadegan have also maintained that they followed provincial recommendations and have fully cooperated with officials, saying they wish everyone affected a “quick and full recovery.”
Hamilton public health and the province have been discussing what more can be done to protect people using fitness centres during the COVID-19 pandemic following the Spinco outbreak. (Bobby Hristova/CBC)
CBC News sent multiple requests for comment to Spinco Hamilton, but representatives didn’t reply. A spokesperson for Spinco’s corporate office indicated in a recent statement that it would not respond to further questions about the outbreak.
“While Spinco is certainly devastated that these cases have unfolded at one of our locations, we view this as part of our ongoing battle with a virus that is constantly changing, seemingly hourly,” wrote founder Michelle August in the statement.
Spinco has since temporarily closed six of its seven spin studios in Ontario.
Hamilton Public Health Services initially identified at least 100 people who may have the virus, but the city’s medical officer of health noted that on average, people with COVID-19 typically come into contact with an additional 20 to 25 people, making the potential scope of the outbreak much larger.
Province reviewing guidelines
A public health spokesperson said Thursday that the fact the outbreak has impacted so many, despite Spinco following the recommendations, “will likely contribute to a change in guidelines and practices moving forward.”
The province has been in contact with local officials about Spinco and announced it will review its guidelines around gyms and fitness centres.
Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario’s Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health, said she’s asked the public health measures team to look at stricter measures for areas that haven’t already been placed in Stage 2.
“We’re looking at the health units where gyms are still allowed to be open and modifying or strengthening the measures that are being recommended in those settings,” she said, adding she’s hoping the new guidelines will be announced soon.
In the meantime, Hamilton public health is suggesting people consider wearing masks in exercise classes and avoid playing music so coaches and participants don’t need to yell.
For her part, Smith agreed cutting down on the shouting during spin classes could keep riders safer and suggested a Plexiglass barrier around the instructor as another possible step.
She’s hopeful the spin studio will survive the outbreak and, although she’s still recovering from COVID-19, says she’d go back again once it reopens.
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
