Early research suggests that face masks used to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus are safe to use even during intense exercise, and could help to curb the spread of COVID-19 at indoor gyms. They studied these levels in three rounds, while the participants did not wear a mask, while they wore a surgical mask, and while they wore an FFP2 mask, which is similar to the N95. By the end, they concluded that a face mask reduced the participants’ ability to perform intense exercise by about 10%, with the researchers suggesting this decrease was likely because it was a bit harder to breathe through a mask, namely the thick FFP2. IS IT SAFE TO WEAR A CORONAVIRUS FACE MASK WHILE EXERCISING? "However," they noted, "since exercise ventilatory limitation is far from being reached, their use is safe even during maximal exercise, with a slight reduction in performance."

Source: Fox News March 09, 2021 18:33 UTC