PM’S priorities questioned as gyms forced to remain shut

INDOOR gyms, swimming pools and concert venues will remain closed after Boris Johnson admitted having to make “difficult” decisions about what should stay on the banned list.

Bowling alleys, soft play areas and skating rinks must also wait to reopen.

Mr Johnson was accused of getting his priorities wrong by opening pubs while gyms, indoor sports facilities, dance studios and many classrooms remained closed, but he insisted the Government was committed to getting them open “within weeks”.

“We cannot lift all the restrictions at once, so we have to make difficult judgments, and every step is scrupulously weighed against the evidence,” he said.

The Prime Minister said Alok Sharma, the Business Secretary, and Oliver Dowden, the Culture Secretary, would establish task forces with public health experts to help businesses that remained closed become Covid-secure and reopen “as soon as possible”.

Mass gatherings are still banned, so professional sport will have to be played in front of empty stadiums.

Mass participation events such as fun runs, as well as amateur team sports like football and rugby, also remain banned for now.

The same applies to concerts and festivals, though theatres can open from July 4 as long as they do not put on live performances, which is likely to be of little help to venue owners.

Dame Diana Johnson, the Labour MP, asked: “What is the public health message that the Prime Minister is conveying by opening pubs ahead of the full opening of schools?”

The full list of venues that remain closed is: swimming pools, water parks, nightclubs, casinos, bowling alleys, indoor skating rinks, massage, piercing and tattoo parlours, indoor gyms, dance studios, indoor play and soft play areas, and exhibition and conference centres.

Outdoor recreation and sport will be allowed, but indoor facilities, including changing rooms and sports courts, will remain closed and people should only play close-contact team sports with members of their household.

Puregym, one of the UK’S largest operators, with more than one million members, said it was “extremely disappointed” in the Prime Minister’s announcement. A spokesman said: “We understand that these decisions are not easy, but it is a strange ‘war on obesity’ that sees pubs and restaurants open before gyms.

“Our facilities are, on average, the size of five or six doubles tennis courts and are exceptionally well ventilated, enabling people to work and exercise safely and securely. We are bitterly disappointed that the one sector that has the potential to help people... is prevented from opening for a further undefined period.

“We urgently call on the Prime Minister to re-examine the evidence, engage with us and our industry bodies, and allow people back into gyms as soon as possible.”

Many workplaces remain largely deserted because of the request from the Government to work from home if at all possible, as well as the lack of childcare for working parents, and there has been no change in that guidance. Some firms have already talked about downsizing their offices permanently.