While it spells relief in some regards for local gyms, the prime minister’s announcement that they may resume operations after nearly nine months does not translate to an immediate return to business.
During a national address, as he announced the easing of other restrictions, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis said effective Monday, December 7, gyms on New Providence and Abaco may resume operations in accordance with Ministry of Health-approved guidelines.
Owner and Director of Evolve Functional Fitness Tangerine Curry-Dinnick said her initial reaction following the announcement was relief, however, that soon faded.
“Of course it was a huge relief, but then a lot of questions pop up in your head – what are these strict protocols? Are they the protocols that we have already put in place to operate? When are they going to tell us the protocols? Does this mean when he reassesses in January we’re closed again?” she told Guardian Business.
“There are a lot of things that run though your head, being one of the people that are shut down first when surges happen. I’m very relieved to open. I’m going to take this time, as much as I can, until he addresses differently.”
For Charles Johnson, the owner of Da Box Gym and Physical Fitness Center, the news that he’d be able reopen was bittersweet, given that December is typically the slowest month for gyms to operate.
“I didn’t have a reaction to it quite frankly. It was just a normal day for me. It’s just a drawn out process. The disappointment of it is to hear it Sunday night at 5 p.m. that effective Monday you want us to be open. So obviously you had some idea that you were going to open us for Monday. I think this is the problem a lot of Bahamians are having. It’s that there’s no thought for the small business people who have to prepare,” he told Guardian Business.
“This is a bad time for gyms with the COVID-19 restrictions, with it being December. People tend to fall off in December, getting ready for Christmas parties and the holidays, so people are rarely in gyms. Gyms usually close. I actually take a break by mid-December and then open back up in January. It still puts gyms in a pickle because even though we are open, the people who are returning are probably owed memberships or owed time, so it’s not like its new business.”
Looking back, Curry-Dinnick said the past nine months of being shut down during the pandemic has not gone well.
“I’ve got a lot of bills and a lot of hard work ahead of me to try to pull my business back out of debt. And that’s really difficult in a time when we’re already in a recession because of all of this. It’s trying to find the balance of working with the clients, but also being able to afford to operate your business as well,” she said.
Johnson had similar sentiments, adding that gyms are in recovery mode, trying to seeing how best they can survive with no help from the government while also trying to juggle the needs of their clients.
“It has to make sense in terms of the inquiries from membership,” he said when asked if and when he plans to reopen.
“We tried to tell the competent authority that all gyms don’t operate alike. We have big fitness gyms and small studios. The big gyms can probably open and people will go in but we smaller gyms that do classes, if the interest is not there it doesn’t make sense to reopen.”
But looking ahead the gym owners are hopeful, particularly as the new year approaches – a time when new memberships typically spike for fitness centers.
“For our small boutique gyms we notice that people will tend to trend more toward small facilities, small group classes. They’re not trying to be in a big gym. So that’s something we can look forward to,” Johnson said.
Curry-Dinnick added, “We do have a lot of outside workouts, we have a lot of pool workouts and we’re quite sure our protocols will work, the ones that we have put in place.”
Gyms were forced to close in March when the prime minister announced emergency lockdown measures. However, as the economy slowly reopened and businesses again welcomed customers month by month, gyms remained closed despite pleas from owners and members of the public.
The prime minister further relaxed restrictions this week after the Ministry of Health reported zero new cases of COVID-19.
The post Gyms consider reopening; approval bittersweet appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/gyms-consider-reopening-approval-bittersweet/
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