Recently, a popular gym located at Shoppers World Brampton at 499 Main Street South and known as the ‘GoodLife Fitness Brampton Gateway’ has been shut closed after one of the main employees working on a daily basis in it tested positive for the coronavirus infection, which has led to people reconsider their plans to return to work out due to fear of contracting coronavirus in the gym.
The incident has occurred only two weeks after the government initiated the phase three of the reopening plan for Ontario. Tracy Matthews, who is the VP of operations at GoodLife Fitness, commented on the incident, explaining, “An associate who was last in our club on Tuesday, Aug. 11, has tested positive for COVID-19,”
“We have notified all members who were in the club at the same time as this associate, and we are working with Peel Region Public Health on the swift and appropriate response to this situation.” Mathews further added.
According to the reports, the gym is likely to stay closed until the eighteenth of August. On their website, GoodLife Fitness has also apologized for the abrupt decision while emphasizing the need for safety and saying that the gym prioritizes their customer’s health.
GoodLife Fitness originally reopened by the end of July when the risk of coronavirus transmission had been controlled in the country to a certain extent. Right after the easing of restrictions on gyms by the Canadian government, members of the gym rapidly returned.
Although the gym had a lot of customers, it was only allowed to reopen with limitations on the number of people who can attend and be inside at a time. The recent incident of one of its employees testing positive has reportedly happened right after the Ontario eased the restriction on limitation further.
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So far, this has been the first reported coronavirus case in the various branches of the GoodLife Fitness gym. However, many people may still decide to continue going to the gym due to the increased risk of infection after easing some of the restrictions.
Even though the chances of having the infection in any of the indoor public spaces are high, the risk can be reduced significantly just by following some of the recommended guidelines by health agencies including the World Health Organization that include maintaining social distancing and avoiding any kind of physical contact.
In gyms, the risk is majorly associated with weights and machines for working out since nearly all people visiting the place touch them. So, many people opt to wear gloves to the gym in order to further decrease the risk of contracting coronavirus at the gym.
While wearing gloves may provide assistance, the best way to avoid the virus is by washing hands frequently. In accordance with experts, a more important factor to consider is not touching the face. Many people touch their faces even while wearing gloves, which can transmit the virus.
Avoid touching the face and using towels that have been left on machines as that can easily spread the virus. Additionally, some experts suggest that merely following all the guidelines for prevention in other spaces can simply help in reducing the chances of coronavirus in the gym.