Experts: Reopening gyms in CT carries heavy risk
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, there was a hard and fast piece of gym etiquette — always wipe down equipment after using it. Unfortunately, “about half the people who use gyms never do that,” said Michael Urban, director of occupational therapy at the University of New Haven.
He and others hope that kind of negligence is a thing of the past, as the state prepares to reopen gyms on June 17. Earlier this week, Gov. Ned Lamont issued guidelines for the second phase of reopening, which includes the return of “sports, sports clubs and complexes, gyms, fitness centers and pools.”
The requirements for these establishments include the closure of “amenities non-essential to the businesses’ main function,” such as child care, as well as the addition of social distancing markers and the insistence that employees clean all equipment “frequently” and that patrons wipe down equipment, including free weights, after each use.
Though people have often seen that last part as a suggestion before the pandemic, experts said it’s time to start taking it seriously.
“That’s going to have to be more closely monitored and be more rigorous,” said Dr. Michael Parry, director of infectious disease at Stamford Hospital.
He and others have some concerns about the reopening of gyms, particularly because they generally aren’t conducive to wearing masks, which are deemed important in slowing the spread of COVID-19.
The state’s rules about exercise establishments don’t necessarily require people to wear masks, but seem to leave that up to the individual businesses. The guidelines do state that “establishments
that require customers to wear a mask while exercising must maintain 6 feet of space between equipment. Establishments that do not require customers to wear a mask while exercising must maintain 12 feet of space between equipment.”
Parry said he’s not sure how it’s possible to work out while masked. “It’s hard (to exercise) while wearing a mask,” he said. “You’re huffing and puffing.”
However, without a mask, he said, the chance of spread is great, particularly indoors — though it’s less so if people are properly distanced.
Still, there’s enough gray area about the safety of gyms that at least one expert is a little apprehensive about reopening them.
“To me, gyms are one of those situations where I would be concerned and want to see how things are proceeding,” said Gregory Buller, chairman of medicine and associate chief medical officer at Bridgeport Hospital.
Like Urban and Parry, one of Buller’s major concerns is how vigilant patrons and staff will be about cleaning equipment.
“If you have to deal with equipment that other people are using, you have to make sure everything is really well sterilized,” Buller said. “Are they going to check every single place to make sure every single business is doing this?”
Before the pandemic, Buller said he went to the gym “every single day. Nobody wants to get back to the gym more than me.”
But he still worries about what the fallout of reopening might be. “There’s going to be some risk,” Buller said.