PUSH BACK: Fitness centres lobby premier to allow gyms to reopen,
Business is facing ‘most difficult time in history,’ email to members says
Goodlife Fitness is urging its members to pressure the Ontario government to allow gyms to reopen in parts of the province where they’ve been forced to close because of rising COVID-19 cases.
In an email sent to members across the province Tuesday, the fitness giant is encouraging its members to write a letter to their local MPP, Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott, among others.
“Between mandated shutdowns, capacity restrictions, and ongoing questions about the safety of fitness facilities, our industry is facing the most difficult time in its history,” the email reads.
Jason Sheridan, senior vicepresident of operations at Goodlife, said the email was sent to more than 175,000 members.
The campaign is led by the Fitness Industry Council of Canada. Other businesses who are part of the industry council will also take part.
“Through this campaign … we are keen to advance the discussions with the Ontario government and public health and to help co-create any enhanced guidelines for gyms across Ontario,” Sheridan told the Star. “We are open to navigating this situation together and working to develop solutions that would allow us to continue to invest in the health and wellness of Ontarians.”
The letter, sent with the subject line “Stand Up for Fitness,” discusses the impact the shutdown has had on the province’s fitness industry, citing the benefits of physical benefits on mental health during the pandemic and reducing the strain on local health care systems as a result.
Nick Corneil, the lead for the Fitness Industry Council Ontario Coalition, said gyms had been taking extensive steps to prevent the spread of the virus before closing, including following social distancing guidelines, using strict sign-in and sign-out protocols and requiring that people wear their masks during workouts.
“It’s a matter of balancing the public health and safety with the economic reality of having gyms close down,” Corneil said. “The difference with gyms is just the positive role they can play in the overall health of Ontarians.”
On Oct. 9 Ford moved Toronto back into a modified Stage 2 of reopening, and ordered the closure of all gyms in Ottawa and parts of the GTA, effective the next day.
In a media briefing on Wednesday, Elliott said that public-health doctors have warned that gyms are a place of transmission. An outbreak at Hamilton spin studio SpinCo has led to at least 85 infections.
“No one wants to get these fitness centres opened up more than I do … you have no idea how hard I’m pushing to get things opened up,” said Ford in the briefing on Wednesday.