Gyms will reopen. An agreement has been made with the Directorate-General for Health – this is what will change:
These measures have not yet been finalised, but the President of the Association of Gymnasiums and Academies of Portugal has revealed that these are in line with the measures that were initially proposed by the Association. Now, it is left to for the authorities to announce that Gyms will re-open on June 1st.
There is already a consensus on the rules that will allow gyms to reopen, whilst coronavirus remains in the community. The Directorate-General for Health (DGS) has completed their review of the proposed guidelines and have requested the views of the Association of Gyms and Academies of Portugal (AGAP), which will be in “total agreement”, as revealed by its President, José Carlos Reis.
“The suggested measures met our expectations and we are very happy with the report that was presented by the DGS. We agree with the extent of the measures presented and we will scrupulously comply with what the DGS decreed”, explained the President.
Even though these measures have not been finalised, AGAP says that they are “very close” to the proposals it had already submitted to the António Costa Government on April 16th. Therefore, it is expected that the gyms will start to operate again, with limits to the space capacity, only by appointment and with restrictions regarding the users’ time in the gym. This has been clarified and is combined with the reinforcement of disinfection regimes of the gyms.
It is also expected that the use of changing rooms will be prohibited, at least in this first phase of reopening. The changing of clothes should only be carried out in the bathrooms.
Some of these measures were proposed by AGAP, which also suggested creating specific schedules for the elderly, prohibiting exercise performed in pairs and reduced group class sizes in order that a distance of four-square metres per person was safeguarded.
Although the measures proposed by the DGS are in line with the initial plan from AGAP, José Carlos Reis says that now all that remains is to confirm the order for all gyms to return to the new normal as of June 1st. For the Association’s President, all gyms are ready to re-open and will have confirmed to them the guidelines to which they must comply.