After five months of closure, indoor gyms are re-opening all over New York
09/02/2020, New York, NY — After five months of closure, indoor gyms are finally being allowed to re-open to the public. The gyms were closed in March by governor Andrew M. Cuomo, in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Now, it has been decided that it is safe enough for indoor gyms to open, despite there being 239,000 cases of coronavirus since the pandemic began. However, unlike the peak in April, where there were over 15,000 cases of the virus in one day, there are now only around 700 cases a day. It has therefore been decided by the state that it is safe enough to re-open over 2,000 gyms in the state.
However, although these gyms will be open, it will be a very different experience for those using them. Gyms offering weights and exercise stations, such as treadmills, will be allowed to re-open. However, these will be socially distanced and users will have to sanitize each station before they use them. Indoor pools and places that only offer group fitness classes (such as Zumba) will not be allowed to re-open. This is because it is much harder to socially distance these activities, especially swimming, and therefore there is a higher risk of infection.
Although gyms will be re-opening, they will not be filling up to capacity. According to the rules, a gym may only operate at 33 percent capacity. This means that those going to the gym will not have to wait a long amount of time to use the gym equipment. However, they will be expected to wipe down every machine after they use it. Saski Popescu from George Mason University has said that ‘The challenge is that people really need to be spaced out and wearing masks the entire time, and this includes the locker rooms.’
It remains unclear how many people will be willing to go back to gyms. Moreover, the cost of re-opening a gym can cost more than $20,000, and gyms may struggle to keep their businesses running. If any companies are planning on re-modelling/changing the construction of their gym to make it more social distance friendly, they may want to get legal advice from a law firm that specializes in commercial construction accidents in case anything goes wrong during construction.
Coronavirus cases in New York City
Despite the re-opening of gyms, New York is not in the all-clear from the coronavirus pandemic. Since the pandemic was first documented in the state, there have been over 32,000 deaths in the entire state. In comparison with the total number of coronavirus deaths in the United States, that equates to around 17% of total deaths in the country. Just today, there have been 750 cases and 10 deaths, suggesting that New York is still not fully safe for its residents.
It remains to be seen how many people who used to frequent a gym will return, as they may feel anxious about returning to a space where other (possibly infected) individuals will be exercising.
New York has also delayed the date that public schools should be starting up again. They have pushed back the start date from the 10th of September to the 21st of September. This is as a result of various safety concerns surrounding social distancing and coronavirus concerns.
Most importantly, if anyone is thinking about going to the gym for the first time since the lockdown since March, they should do everything they can to maintain social distancing and keep all of the equipment clean.
