Local gym not discouraged by possible COVID-19 exposure at Motion Fitness

Local gyms and fitness centres in Saskatoon aren’t letting a possible COVID-19 exposure at a Saskatoon gym affect operations.

Motion Fitness issued a warning to all members of its Brighton location earlier this week after a person who tested positive for COVID-19 worked out at the gym.

Pat Mallough, the owner of Iron Works Gym, said news of the exposure was instantly concerning because he didn’t know how it would affect the industry in Saskatoon.

“It’s scary because that’s a gym, I’m a gym,” Mallough said. “They could say, ‘OK, this is dangerous for the gyms to be open,’ like they did in Arizona because of those outbreaks.”

“If you don’t have protocols and you don’t have people follow (the protocols) that’s what’s going to happen.”

While Mallough’s initial reaction had him wondering what would happen at his gym, by the weekend, he was confident in the precautions he has at the gym.

Each member at Iron Works is given a key fob to enter the building. Before they enter they must hand sanitize and then can use their fob to unlock the front door. After that, each person entering the gym must grab a spray bottle of sanitizer and a towel to wipe down anything they touch.

The system helps track not only how many people are in the gym, but since Mallough has owned the gym for nearly 37 years and is there for nearly every hour it’s open, he is able to track who is in the gym. Being on a first-name basis with nearly all of his membership helps with sanitizing accountability as well.

“At 12,000 square feet with 25 or 30 people, that’s not packed, so the social spacing is easily maintained,” he said. “The people understand that everything they touch and use they have to wipe down — there’s not someone out there doing it. Each individual does it.”

Mallough thinks those policies will help avoid any possible Saskatchewan Health Authority public advisory.

Public health officer Saqib Shahab has previously said a public advisory would be issued only if contact tracing can’t be done effectively within 48 hours.

A staff member at Motion Fitness confirmed that extra sanitizing has been done at the Brighton location since Thursday’s notice to members was sent. A health inspector arrived on Friday to comb over policies and signed off on the operations of the location.

With more and more people looking to get out and be active after months of various lockdowns, Mallough said positive cases and outbreaks can happen at any time.

“It can always happen, but it’s a lot less possible if everyone is taking the same precautions,” he said.