HOW OFTEN HAVE YOU SPLASHED YOUR SWEAT?

 HOW OFTEN HAVE YOU SPLASHED YOUR SWEAT?

During the pandemic we have been faced with a never-ending series of issues and concerns that in retrospect now seem rather minor. At the time, the media and medical community were in a constant state of stress and panic. Today we look back and wonder why were we so paranoid about many of them. 

For example, initially, we were in a Clorox panic as every disinfectant was whisked off the shelves the moment it was restocked. All sanitary wipes and solutions washed every surface in many homes. It was precautionary of course, but also rather excessive. We debated at nauseum whether paper masks were adequate or did we need cloth or medical masks to keep us safe. Researchers actually measured the size of openings that the virus could escape through! Whether we needed to distance ourselves from others by six feet or was five feet adequate as some countries advocated? Could we actually extract five instead of four vaccination doses from one vile was an issue? Could we mix doses of two different vaccines or not? The questions were endless and very often were rather trivial in nature but we were bombarded by them.

Well, today I read of an issue that caused me to stop for a moment and ask if we were starting to lose it. Gyms in South Korea's capital Seoul and its surrounding region have been told not to play music with a tempo higher than 120 beats per minute (bpm), in order to limit the spread of Covid-19. Treadmills will be limited to a maximum of 6 km/h (3.7 mph).Health officials say the restrictions will prevent people from breathing too fast or splashing sweat on each other. Of course, I understand that it is an attempt to prevent spread, but measuring the tempo of music to exercise is pretty extreme and unnecessary.

Those attending exercise classes such as Zumba, spin and aerobics in the greater Seoul area will face the 120-bpm limit starting today People are also only allowed to spend two hours at a time at indoor sports facilities and must not use the shower. Gym owners ask how can they regulate the music of people who exercise to music on their own earphones. All sports facilities must close by 22:00. Just another example of overkill, in my opinion!

I am just very grateful that after 16 months of a wide variety of restrictions and regulations we have reduced the infection rate and spread of the virus to allow us to resume more normal activities. I apologize if during any of our chance encounters over that time that I may have “splashed my sweat” on you! I am very sorry!