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PM: ‘We are going to reopen gyms as soon as we can do it in a Covid-secure way’

Friday, 03 July 2020 12:52 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 03 July 2020 12:52 PM ]

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street in central London on July 1, 2020, to attend Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) at the House of Commons ˜ / AFP / Ben STANSALL

Speaking on LBC on Friday, the prime minister said: “The best way forward for the country is to get the economy moving again.

“We are going to reopen gyms as soon as we can do it in a Covid-secure way and I think that the date for reopening gyms at the moment, if we can do it, is in just a couple of weeks’ time.”

Mr Johnson made the announcement just 24 hours before the biggest lockdown-easing measures in months.

The hospitality industry is due to reopen in England on Saturday 4 July, with pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, barbers, cinemas, art galleries and museums permitted to open to the public.

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All service due to open to the public shall be obliged to adhere to strict Covid-secure guidelines which include implementing social distancing, screens at counters, encouraging customers to stay at tables and away from bars for ordering food and drinks, and regularly washing their hands.

The measures, which come into effect on Saturday, July 4, will cover outdoor playground and gyms but indoor facilities shall remain closed because of the increased risk of virus transmission inside.

Other locales which are considered high risk, such as swimming pools and nightclubs, shall remain closed.

Despite the devolved nations being on a different lockdown-easing trajectory to England, on Friday it was announced museums, gyms and libraries were expected to reopen in Glasgow throughout August and September.

Glen Earlam, CEO of David Lloyd Clubs, on June 24, decried Mr Johnson’s choice to exclude gyms from the 4 July openings as “completely illogical”.

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“So what we hear is that pubs and restaurants will be able to reopen, but health and fitness facilities won’t be able to,” said the CEO. “To us, this is bizarre because we are part of the solution.”

He added: “The chief medical officer has regularly said that health and fitness is one of the best things you can do to protect yourself from Covid-19.”

PureGym, one of the UK’s largest operators with more than one million members, said in a statement: “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.”

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