DENTON — Gyms and fitness centers are combating the coronavirus with different strategies, with some taking a more proactive approach while others are challenged to get members to abide by mask and social distancing rules.
Because gyms are deemed high-risk locations by the Maryland Department of Health, Gov. Larry Hogan’s executive orders on COVID limit fitness centers to 50% capacity and requires mask-wearing at all times unless there is a health risk to the wearer.
Enforcing those rules underscores the difficulties of managing a gym during a pandemic — members come to shake loose and work out, and slapping rules and restrictions on them in the one place patrons want to feel healthy and clean has become increasingly conflictive.
Hearthstone Health + Fitness in Easton, for example, touts itself as one of the cleanest and safest fitness centers on the Eastern Shore during the pandemic, with six-foot cleaning between equipment, employees dedicated to cleaning the facility and mask enforcement.
“We went overboard on allowing people to be very socially distanced and physically distant,” said owner Martha Tuthill. “We purchased sanitizer that’s literally between every two pieces of equipment. You can’t go six feet without bumping into a bottle of hand-sanitizer.”
Other fitness centers find they are frequently having to remind members of mask and social distancing rules.
An anonymous complaint was filed to MDH about the Caroline County Family YMCA in Denton in November, said Jennifer Gill, the vice president for the YMCA of Chesapeake.
“The (Caroline County) Health Department did a visit and found that we were meeting all protocols,” she said. “We are absolutely committed to making sure people are following protocol. Not only to keep our staff safe, but as a not-for-profit organization, we need to be open and meeting protocol and keeping people safe is the only way to do that.”
Like with other fitness centers across the Shore and country, mask-wearing has been a challenge to enforce at the YMCA’s 11 locations in the Chesapeake region, Gill said.
“It’s a constant battle to get people to wear the masks,” she said. “We meet weekly with the staff about it, who are constantly having to ask people to mask up and remask.”
After the complaint was filed over the Denton facility in November, Gill said she met with the manager there to ensure all protocols are being complied with. They now close from 2 to 4 p.m. everyday to deep clean the facility.
But the YMCA in Denton is a small gym on one level with just a few rooms, making it extremely difficult to enforce social distancing, too.
“In those smaller locations it’s very difficult when equipment is in close proximity,” Gill explained. “People assume when walking three feet that you don’t have to wear a mask. We spend a lot of time trying to re-educate what our expectations are.”
The Caroline County Health Department could not disclose the results of the investigation or confirm any additional complaints against local gyms.
In some ways, the dichotomy between gyms on the enforcement of the rules reveals the difficulty of managing a fitness center during a pandemic. While many have stuck to the rulebook, others have completely and openly resisted them, including some independent franchises of Crossfit, the largest chain of fitness centers in the country.
In a viral video in November, the owner of a Crossfit in Buffalo, New York, ripped up a $15,000 fine from a health inspector. Robby Dinero buckled down and said he would not comply with COVID-19 restrictions on his gym.
The Eastern Shore has not seen open, strong resistance from gym owners. But after re-opening in the summer, fitness centers have offered differing strategies on COVID-19 enforcement, and local health departments are responding reactively — only after a complaint is filed.
Don Wilson, the director of Environmental Health for Caroline County, said they jot down all complaints, including for location, time and date, and then make a phone call to re-educate staff.
If there are multiple complaints, an inspector will make a site visit, and if they are not in compliance, the business will be shut down for a few days.
In the beginning of the pandemic, MDH had an entire operation center set up to deal with the complaints. That has since disbanded, leaving enforcement with a smaller operation at the local level.
“There were large groups of people — a number of people that handled certain categories of businesses, charged with contacting them in providing education and materials and all the governors orders,” he said. “Once the OC disbanded, it was just up to us.”
Gyms, health clubs and aquatic centers are considered high-risk locations by the state because they involve prolonged exposure to people outside of an immediate household.
From July to November, 2,606 people who tested positive for COVID-19 and responded to a contact tracer’s questions reported a fitness center as a place they visited just before they became ill, according to MDH data.
With 37,458 total responses, fitness centers make up about 14% of all traced locations, putting gyms in the mid-tier of high-risk locations. Working outside the home was the most reported by those who tested positive, followed by indoor shopping and indoor dining.
“Public health officials are closely monitoring the contact tracing data and trends, including data from health clubs,” said Charles Gischlar, the deputy director of communications at MDH.
Mask enforcement has been largely left up to individual gyms, with many allowing members to take off the mask when working out. Both Hearthstone and Caroline County Family YMCA reported allowing gym patrons to take off a mask when working out with equipment.
“Fitness centers are required to adhere to and enforce the state’s public health orders,” Gischlar said, “including mask wearing. MDH strongly encourages everyone to wear a mask while using exercise equipment, since it protects both the wearer and others in the facility. Most people are able to wear a mask while exercising without any risk to the wearer.”
Hearthstone has actually seen its members step up during the pandemic, according to Tuthill, because employees are encouraging safe behavior with enforcement and proactive cleaning.
”Our members have just been great about living in a community that is really very caring,” she said. “We watch people wipe (equipment) down before and after to be respectful.”
Tuthill said Hearthstone closed for 94 days — from Mid-March to June — and she used that time to prepare for re-opening, distancing equipment and purchasing cleaning items. She expanded gym space, and is now offering one-on-one training sessions for those with particular concerns about COVID transmission.
Tuthill spent “thousands” of dollars on her renovations, saying she is dedicated to keeping members safe. But she said other gyms have not followed the same path and are more concerned with cutting costs or defying orders.
”Some places are trying to declare they are private and are exempt from the rules,” she said, declining to name which locations. “I personally haven’t verified it, but I heard some people have done some creative things to work around the law.”
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