Questions arise about COVID-19 after U.S. Olympic runner competes after testing positive before 200m race

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - Questions about the current impact of COVID-19 are coming up after U.S. Olympic champion Noah Lyles competed after testing positive.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the latest social distancing guidelines from march of this year suggest a person should isolate for at least 24 hours from the time of their last fever or their symptoms improve. They also suggest wearing a mask once you start going around people again, all things the world saw Olympian Noah Lyles do after running the 200 meter race after testing positive for the virus.

UAB Associate Professor of Medicine Dr. Dhaval Ravel points out it’s not common for anyone to participate in strenuous exercises after testing positive for the coronavirus. He says typically a person runs the risk of having long term symptoms even after recovering.

“It can affect your lungs and your heart. People can get very high heart rates. They can get very dizzy or lightheaded. However, there is not much correlation in terms of if somebody would have an acute reaction like what he had. How would that translate into the long term COVID symptoms,” he said. “Generally our recommendation is that if you are having acute COVID while you are isolating, or as you are recovering, we like them to walk for 15-20 minutes, at the most 25 minutes a day, at regular pace or a little over regular pace.”

Ravel says there is not enough data out there to say how someone like Lyles could be impacted because we just don’t typically see people participating in strenuous activities after testing positive for COVID-19.

As you likely saw, Lyles was visibly not well as medical staff tended to him after the race and had to be rolled off in a wheelchair. Reportedly, he started feeling better a few hours after the race.

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