With the easing up of COVID-19 restrictions and the growing number of vaccinations, local gyms are slowly recovering from the effects of the pandemic.
In March 2020, Gov. Cooper ordered the closing of all fitness centers as a precaution against COVID-19. After almost half a year of being closed, gyms were finally able to re-open in September and members slowly returned to exercises.
“It was really slow there out of the gate with our more vulnerable population, but things have really picked up here lately as more people are becoming vaccinated. Everyone has really been happy with our cleaning and sanitation procedures,” said Mount Airy Parks and Recreation Director Darren Lewis about Reeves Community Center.
Reeves members are required to wear masks while working out and six-feet social distancing is strongly recommended.
“Overall it is going well, we have adapted and evolved with the different challenges and requirements in our fitness gyms and our fitness classes as well. It has made us think outside of the box, we are fortunate to have some amazing instructors. We are looking forward to the time we are back to normal,” said Lewis.
Not all gyms in the area have been as fortunate.
“COVID had a tremendous effect on our business. We were closed fully for six months and when we were able to re-open we were under the restrictions of 30% of the capacity. We have recovered about 50% of our membership as of April 30, but we’re still missing about 50% of our members,” said Armfield Civic Center Director Leah Tunstall.
The imposing of COVID-19 mandates have received a mixed reaction at the fitness center, with Tunstall noting that membership took a hit when Gov. Cooper ordered that masks be worn when working out back in November. As wearing masks while exercising makes breathing more difficult, many members simply didn’t want to deal with it.
In contrast, the staff at Northern Wellness and Fitness Center used the downtime to upgrade and improve their facility.
”We closed down March 18, and we re-opened Sept. 7. We used that time to renovate our entire gym, we completely cleaned and sterilized our entire facility, we put fresh paint on everything. We have refinished our basketball gym floor, repainted the entire building, put a completely new dehumidification system, lockers, showers, everything. We installed a bunch of new equipment,” said Northern Wellness and Fitness Executive Director Dean Carpenter. “Since we reopened, we have steadily grown our membership and hired several well-known local instructors to join our existing instructor list.”
Taking precautions against COVID-19, a mandatory temperature check is in place for entry to Northern Wellness and Fitness. Members of the gym are also required to wear masks when exercising, as well as maintain social distancing of six feet.
Officials at Anytime Fitness were not available for comment.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com