Long Island News Post Published on July 8th 2020, Written by Nick P.
Update On Reopening Long Island Gyms
Local environmental group GreenAdam is now working with the Suffolk County Economic Planning and Development group to provide gyms with testing in hopes to get them open faster. Gyms and other “high-risk” businesses were removed from Phase 4 of reopening, which is set to begin on Wednesday. GreenAdam is known for disinfection and testing services for biohazards, but they are currently focusing on COVID-19 at the moment through the certified clearance program TrustedSafe.org.
Long Island Gym Owner Kevin Godfrey stated "Throughout the last three months, we've tested hundreds of small businesses throughout Long Island, and one of the exciting things I've noticed is that gyms were outperforming almost every other type of business in regards to overall cleanliness." He continues "The purpose is to dispel the false notion that gyms are any more 'contagious' than other businesses,"
Kevin Godfrey continued and said that their testing process involves taking samples from a business and tests for microorganisms growth that could become a breeding ground for viruses. Relative Light Units, known as RLU, are used as a metric to determine the risk of potential infections.
If the tests identify that the growths remain in the Centers for Disease Control and Environmental Protection Agency recommended levels, which is anything under 150 RLU. Although tests do not measure for COVID-19 contamination, the state has asked for data and analysis before they feel as if they can open gyms. Therefore, this group will be able to provide the necessary data needed to get gyms open as soon as possible.
"It appears officials are making decisions based on junk science or suggesting financially-crippling measures such as retrofitted HVAC systems, which will not be possible for the majority of owners out there," owner Kevin Godfrey said.
Why Do Only Gyms Need This Additional Testing?
Gyms were declared a high-risk business by NY Governor Cuomo, which is what initially had them left out of the Fourth Phase of Reopening. However, undergoing an inspection is something that no other business was required to do in order to reopen.
This step is another hurdle for local gym owners that no other business owner was required to do before reopening. It seems as at this point the state is out to get local gym owners, as the CDC has recently stated that the virus is extremely unlikely to be spread via most surfaces.
Therefore, if gyms are consistently being cleaned by staff, they should be able to open with the rest of Phase 4 businesses and guests should be able to choose to go at their own risk.
It seems as if simply making members sign a waiver that the facility is not responsible for them getting COVID-19 would be a more sensible and common sense approach to the problem, opposed to requiring local gyms to undergo testing and waiting for results.
When Will All Gyms Be Able To Open?
It seems as if gyms must currently undergo testing to reopen, however, it is unclear if testing will be required to open going forward. Depending on the results from the first batch of gyms that get tested, the data may be used to draw a general conclusion about the safety of gyms to reopen.
Local Gym owners and members must wait in uncertainty about when they will be able to return to their fitness routines. A promising first round of tests will be an important factor in determining when the rest of the gyms will be able to reopen.
This is the first round of local gyms that will undergo testing:
- SC Fitness in Bethpage
- Kelsie's Barre in Smithtown
- Masa CrossFit in Centereach
- Undivided Athletics in Bohemia
- Jpahl Fitness in East Setauket
- BodySmart in Southhold
- World Gym in Wantagh
- Elevation Fitness in Babylon
- Relentless Strength & Fitness in Westbury
- Redefine Fitness in Mt. Sinai
- Simply Pilates in Smithtown
- Northport Fit Body Bootcamp in Northport
Long Island Gym Owners have already filed a lawsuit against the state.
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Long Island News Post Published July 8th, 2020
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