Gyms: Protective Clothing

(asked on 21st May 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the evidential basis is for the guidance issued his Department on the use of facemasks in gyms.


Answered by
Jo Churchill Portrait
Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 26th May 2021

There is some evidence that wearing face coverings while taking part in exercise may be harmful to health, especially for people who have underlying heart or lung conditions. The World Health Organization (WHO) has advised that people should not wear face coverings during strenuous physical activity. The WHO’s advice ‘Mask use in the context of COVID-19: Interim guidance’ is available at the following link:

https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/337199/WHO-2019-nCov-IPC_Masks-2020.5-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Reticulating Splines