Most gyms and fitness centres across Canada say they’re still planning to keep their doors open despite the spread of novel coronavirus that has infected thousands worldwide.
As of Saturday, gym chains like Goodlife Fitness, Anytime Fitness, Planet Fitness and Hone Fitness have said that they would stay open, and have ramped up sanitation and prevention efforts to keep COVID-19 from spreading across their locations.
“We’re not closing,” said Jim Gordon, CEO of Toronto-based Hone Fitness which has seven locations.
“We’ve been very sensitive, obviously, we’ve implemented a schedule to where all the employees are cleaning every hour … we go around the gym and wipe down to try and take an active role in this thing.”
Gordon said that they’ve doubled down on cleaning their locations with heavy-duty disinfectant wipes, as well as introducing signage to remind its customers and employees to keep their spaces clean.
“We aggressively use them, tell members to use them before and after they get out of the machine,” said Gordon. “It costs us a lot of money, much more than the spray, so that’s really the core.”
Gyms — which have hot and damp environments making them hotspots for bacteria to spread — have come under heavy scrutiny as potential vectors for the spread of the virus.
According to the World Health Organization, the COVID-19 infection spreads through the upper respiratory system into other respiratory tracts. Health experts have since said that the virus cannot be transmitted through sweat or bacteria — both of which are prevalent in gyms.
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