FORT ST. JOHN -- Gyms, fitness centres and dance studios reopened in B.C. Thursday after being shuttered by COVID-19 restrictions for nearly a month.
A Dawson Creek gym owner says herself, along with her staff and members are excited to get back into the gym.
“You can’t even express how happy people are,” says Tammy Schmidt, Gridiron Fitness Owner.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced Tuesday, that starting Thursday, indoor individual and group fitness as well as dance classes can resume with increased COVID-19 safety protocols.
“It’s unreal, when she said she wasn’t going to extend it, the tears started flowing and I was just like oh thank you,” says Schmidt.
Even though her gym was shut down for 4 weeks, Schmidt says she had a handful of people opening new memberships, to show their support.
“They were like, we want to keep you in business, we want to support you so they were buying memberships to get us through the month,” added Schmidt.
Although the closure mandate was in place, some gyms across B.C. and the Peace Region continued to defy it.
The new guidelines were put in place Tuesday but many gym owners say they were already following the protocols before being shut down.
These protocols include a minimum of 7 square metres around each person exercising, all equipment must be sanitized after each use, proof of vaccination is required for all people entering and using fitness facilities and pre-booking will also be required in most gyms.
Additionally, masks must be worn at all times, except while actively working out, although health officials are encouraging people to wear masks even while exercising.
A school of population and publics professor at UBC says, it’s hard to know which environments are safe to be in.
“We now know that this virus is transmitted through the air, so really, it’s very difficult to say any environment is safe. What it really comes down to now is an individual’s risk tolerance,” says Michael Brauer.
Health officials say ventilation is the key to stopping the spread of the virus and fitness facilities are encouraged to keep their windows or doors open whenever possible.
