CLEVELAND — WHOOP, a fitness band worn by both professional athletes and everyday people to track health and fitness levels, may be able to provide an early indicator of COVID-19 symptoms and have partnered with the Cleveland Clinic to test the theory.

One of the apparent underlying symptoms of the novel coronavirus is an elevation in respiratory rate, a measurement the WHOOP bands provide to its wearers.

“We are really pumped to have them as partners in this collaboration to better understand COVID-19,” said Will Ahmed, WHOOP CEO. “And you know, broadly speaking, it's what everyone should be doing is trying to see what they can do to help understand this thing.”

Ahmed said with the help of the Cleveland Clinic, the company is working to create a large, non-identifying data set for what it looks like to have COVID-19 before, during and after to see if the fitness bands can, in fact, be a tool to identify the symptoms of the virus early.

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