SpinCo Hamilton has emerged as the site of one of .

What started as three COVID-positive cases on Monday, Oct. 5, has grown to 74 in just over a week. The cases now include at least five people who live outside of Hamilton and patrons and staff ranging in age from teenagers to people in their late 50s.

By The Spectator’s count, as many as 2,500 people — including those who visited the gym and their friends and family — could have been exposed, based on information provided by Hamilton public health about general exposure numbers and SpinCo outbreak numbers specifically.

“There has been a lot of transmission associated with it,” said Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, Hamilton’s medical officer of health, on Tuesday. “It is concerning.”

As the story develops, we’re compiling everything you need to know about the cases connected to the studio, how to stay safe working out and about how the outbreak is affecting the broader Hamilton community.

What is SpinCo?

SpinCo is a spin studio franchise with 18 locations across Canada, including one in Hamilton. According to its website, the studio offers “structured, full-body spin classes designed to strengthen the body, energize the mind and feed the soul.” Riders move to the beat of the music in unison, typically in a dark room with loud music. Co-owners Naz Zarezadegan and Ira Price opened the James Street North SpinCo location in January.

When was the outbreak declared?

Hamilton public health at the studio on Monday, Oct. 5, after two patrons and one staff member tested positive.

How many people are infected?

As of Friday, Oct. 16, a total of 74 people connected to the SpinCo outbreak have tested positive for COVID. That includes 46 patrons, two staff and 26 secondary “household-spread” cases, meaning the person didn’t visit the studio but caught the virus from someone who did.

What do we know about those who were infected?

On Tuesday, Hamilton public health said three-quarters of those who are sick are women. Ages of those infected range from late teens to late 50s. Most live in Hamilton but at least six live outside the city.

What is the condition of those who are sick?

No one that public health is aware of has been hospitalized, public health said Friday. In an Instagram post over the weekend, SpinCo said: “As of today, everyone who has tested positive, are well.” At least one rider told The Spectator on Thursday that she was with COVID. Her symptoms included loss of taste and smell, difficulty breathing, body aches and “unbelievable” sinus pain.

How many people were potentially exposed?

Hamilton public health said last week “” of the spin studio community may have been exposed to . That does not include “secondary” exposure to contacts outside the studio, such as family and friends. Richardson said public health does not know the exact number of secondary spread contacts. In general, people tend to have 20 to 25 contacts per case, she said. By The Spectator’s count, that brings the total number of people potentially exposed to 2,500.

When did spread occur?

According to the studio, people in “specific classes” were exposed to the virus from Sept. 28 until Oct. 5. Public health says it was looking at “several” classes over a few day period as times when people might have been exposed.

Was patient zero showing symptoms?

SpinCo says “patient zero displayed no symptoms.” Public health won’t comment on this, citing privacy.

Was the studio following public health’s guidelines?

Yes. Richardson says the studio did follow public health guidelines. Public health has had “tremendous co-operation” from SpinCo’s owners and operators as it investigated the outbreak, Richardson said, noting public health reviewed SpinCo’s policies and practices. The studio says it cut ridership in half to allow for physical distancing, allowing — 21 riders in the studio instead of the regular 43 — and maintaining a six-foot radius around each bike. The studio also had screening and sanitation measures in place.

If they were following guidelines, how did the outbreak happen?

This remains unclear. What we know is gym-goers aren’t required to wear masks while working out — that’s allowed under Hamilton’s mask bylaw — and the person who spread the virus was apparently asymptomatic. Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist at the University of Toronto, : “This can happen at any gym … This is not about how well the gym was run; this is about how COVID spreads. If you let people hangout together, without masks, sharing air, in the same space for a prolonged period of time … this was going to happen anyways.”

Is this Hamilton’s worst outbreak?

No. Hamilton’s worst outbreak was the Rosslyn Retirement residence where 64 residents and 22 staff tested positive for COVID. In that case, 16 residents died. The spin outbreak is, however, Hamilton’s first and worst gym-related outbreak. It is also one of Canada’s worst fitness studio outbreaks.

Has the SpinCo outbreak sparked another outbreak?

It seems so. Public health declared an outbreak at Radius restaurant on James Street South on Wednesday. Three staff tested positive. The restaurant said in a statement that their “first case” was linked to SpinCo. When reached by email, the owner said he didn’t have more details on how the case was connected to the spin studio. Public health said Thursday it was too early in their investigation to say if the two outbreaks were connected.

Have other communities seen outbreaks in gyms?

Yes. Waterloo Public Health declared a in September after three people contracted the virus. Other gyms in the Toronto area have seen COVID cases but haven’t experienced “outbreaks,” which is typically defined as spread within the location. This summer, Calgary spin studio Ride Cycle Club had an outbreak that infected 65 people, according to Alberta Health Services. The outbreak was declared on July 17 and ended Aug. 2.

How can you stay safe while working out?

Richardson stresses: if you are sick, do not go to a gym. Instead, take a walk outside or go for a run if you really want to exercise. If you are feeling well and want to go to a gym, you should still wear a mask — even while working out, which is more than what Hamilton’s mask bylaw requires. Be sure to wash your hands often and maintain six feet of physical distance between yourself and other gym-goers. Your gym also should not have loud music, since loud music increases the need to yell and yelling can increase the risk of COVID spread. If you want to lower your risk of contracting COVID while working out even further, exercise outside.

Katrina Clarke is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: