GYMS ARE A CRITICAL PART OF NATION’S HEALTH AND WELLBEING INFRASTRUCTURE AND SHOULD REMAIN OPEN

2nd November 2020

As the leading gym operator in the country, we are extremely disappointed by the Government’s instructions that mean we will have to close our 236 gyms in England on November 5th as part of the new national lockdown. We urge the Government and Members of Parliament to reconsider and reverse this regressive decision which will damage the health and well being of millions of people. It is a decision unsupported by the data and evidence that we have presented to government repeatedly over the last few weeks, including in writing to the Prime Minister and his senior Ministers on Saturday morning. COVID-19 does not transmit in gyms which have a vital role to play in promoting physical and mental wellbeing and employ hundreds of thousands of people.

As we approach winter the case for keeping gyms open as an ’essential service‘ for the 10 million members is very strong. Closing gyms will damage the nation’s physical and mental health. It is also a regressive decision that will have more of an impact on lower socio-economic groups who live in more densely populated urban areas where there is less outside space to exercise. For these people, who can’t afford or access golf courses and tennis courts, the gym is the only or main form of activity/exercise and is critical for maintaining and improving their physical and mental wellbeing.

The Government repeatedly claim their decisions are based on the data but that is not the case in this instance and we urge them to look again at the facts. Since gyms re-opened in early July, transmission of COVID-19 in gyms has been very low and our gyms are Covid secure based on protocols approved by PHE and SAGE. Industry data, taken from a sample of over 5 million gym visits per week, finds only 2.88 cases per 100,000 visits in the most recent week for which data is available (week ending 11 October). The UK case rate in the general population in the same week was 150.83 cases per 100,000. Data since reopening suggests there have been no ‘spreader events’ where a member has attended a gym and infected multiple other people. Indeed, there is no clear evidence of any transmission taking place in gyms – a fact borne out by our data and the Government’s own settings transmission data. The wellbeing of our colleagues in gyms is very important to us, and their good health also confirms the positive data around Covid safety. The rates of infection amongst our staff members, who are often spending up to 40 hours a week in our facilities, are very low. We have found just a small handful of cases across our workforce – an incidence rate of less than 1 in 100,000 per hour worked.

We have spent millions of pounds putting in place a broad range of protocols to ensure COVID-19 does not transmit in our gyms. Measures include 2m social distancing, reduced numbers of people in gyms, increased fresh airflow/ventilation per person, significantly increased hygiene and sanitisation procedures, contactless entry all supported by sustained and visible communications. More recently we have ensured that staff and members wear masks when in our facilities whilst not exercising. These protocols are working and will continue to work.

We know from recent research that gyms make a huge difference to the physical and mental well-being of people. This research reveals that 90% of members are satisfied with the measures and controls that have been put in place; for 80% the gym is their only or main form of activity/exercise; and over 98% believe both that gyms are important for their mental well-being and should remain open in the event of stricter lockdowns. Finally, over 400,000 people have signed a petition demanding the government keep gyms open in the event of this now imminent further lockdown. The voice of the people on this is clear, it is time for Government to listen.

To conclude we urge the national Government to seriously reconsider their decision to close gyms. If they fail to do so they will have to face and live with the consequences of a less healthy population and associated poorer health outcomes including a weaker immune system. 10 million healthier, happier people is a health dividend the country needs right now. What’s more the sector faces significant closures which, in the months and years ahead, will result in reducing the number of ‘essential service’ facilities where people can train. Council owned leisure facilities in particular are already in deep financial distress. It’s time the Government considered the gym sector an ally in this war and not an enemy.

Humphrey Cobbold, Chief Executive Officer – PureGym

Our statement on the Scottish First Minister's decision to delay gyms reopening

30th July 2020

We are extremely disappointed that the possible opening of gyms in Scotland has been delayed until September 14th. We know that the majority of our Scottish members (over 120,000 of them across 24 gyms!) are desperate to get back to their gyms to improve their physical and mental wellbeing and them, and the whole gym and fitness centre industry in Scotland will be as disappointed as we are. We have a vital role to play in the fight against obesity which is a public health challenge in Scotland and right across the UK. More broadly, it strikes us as truly extraordinary that, in the middle of a health crisis, the First Minister and her team have not ascribed any real priority to working with us and our sector to understand our capacity to help provide for the better health and wellbeing of the Scottish people at this time.

Her approach seems to be in direct contrast to other countries. For example, our gyms in Switzerland are in their 12th week of opening and in Denmark we are in our 7th week after opening. Across those countries, we have welcomed over 3 million visitors since reopening. We have been audited and visited by police and authorities in those countries on dozens of occasions and passed every test. As far as we know, there have been no incidents of transmission of infection in our facilities – and both Denmark and Switzerland have good “track and trace” systems and tracing Apps operating. Furthermore, we reopened gyms in Northern Ireland three weeks ago and in England this week and these reopenings have met with strong local support for the access to exercise and much consumer praise for the protocols, standards and safety processes that have been implemented.

In prior speeches, the First Minister has alluded to “evidence” that gyms are a problem and in her speech today she referenced “clinical advice” that gyms pose a “particular risk”. We acknowledge that there are problems, challenges and risks in all areas of society at the moment – and gyms have their own specific risks of course. That is precisely why we and the entire gym and fitness industry have invested huge effort and rigour in devising safety protocols and procedures that materially reduce the risk of viral transmission. These protocols are now allowing hundreds of thousands of people in the UK and across Europe to reap the mental and physical benefits of exercise without exposing themselves to undue risk. We urge the Scottish authorities to share openly relevant evidence and the cited clinical advice but above all to work with our sector to understand the approaches to risk mitigation which we have successfully implemented in other countries and which stand ready to benefit the people of Scotland.  

Our gyms at PureGym are, on average, the size of five or six doubles tennis courts and are exceptionally well ventilated, enabling people to work and exercise safely and securely. Through our existing electronic entry system, we know the names and details of every single member in our facilities at any moment so can exercise tight control over attendance. As well as being staffed at all opening times we also monitor behaviour inside the gyms on CCTV so we are well prepared to oversee and enforce social distancing.

We have developed detailed, industry-agreed guidance and are confident gyms are safe places to work and safe places to workout. The protocols which have been developed with the input of recognised medical experts cover all aspects of hygiene, disinfection, access control, physical separation, number limitations per venue, monitoring and oversight, education and training.

In summary, we urgently call on the First Minister to re-examine the current, factual evidence, engage with us and our industry bodies, and allow the Scottish people back into gyms as soon as possible so that we can support them in living happier and healthier lives.

ukactive's letter to the prime minister

Chair of our industry body ukactive, Tanni Grey-Thompson, has written to the Prime Minister seeking clarity on the decision to delay the reopening of gyms and leisure facilities, outlining the threats to community health during the COVID-19 crisis and calling for a clear timetable.