Gyms in Estonia prepare for Monday reopening as emergency situation expires
Gyms and sports clubs, closed since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic and accompanying emergency situation, are to reopen their doors on Monday, following the expiry of the emergency situation at midnight Sunday.
Guests will have to follow the 2+2 rule and disinfect gym equipment after use, ERR's online news in Estonian reports, and group training sessions will be capped at 10 people.
MyFitness, the largest gym chain in the land, says it will open its sports clubs from Monday and follow its summer working hours. The club says it has installed distance markers on the floors, to encourage 2+2 adherence, and increased the frequency of cleaning work. Shorter training sessions have also been added to the plan, the company says. Whether this was as a safety measure or due to potential reduced fitness levels of its clients after nearly 10 weeks quarantining, the company did not say. In any case, MyFitness and other gyms have been conducting online training sessions via Zoom or similar, throughout the pandemic.
24-7 Fitness, which operates in Tallinn and Rakvere and is usually open 24 hours a day, is sticking to the latter practice and will open its outlets just after midnight.
The sports club notes on its social media account that it has imposed no restrictions on the number of customers, as there is enough space within its the clubs, though groups are also limited to a maximum of 10 participants indoors, with outdoor training available for larger groups.
However, the group training rule has also been established for 10 participants, while larger trainings are organized by the sports club outdoors.
Gymfitness an automated 24-hour gym chain owned by Myfitness, will also open on Monday night. Another firm, Gym Eesti, also asks clients to follow the 2 + 2 rule and stay in the common changing and wash rooms for as short a time as possible.
Lemon Gym, which has clubs in Tallinn and Tartu, says its staff disinfect club equipment every two hours, and door handles every hour. Floor stickers and rearranged gym equipment will help to enforce the 2+2 rule, and the company recommends limiting sessions to about an hour, to use personal training mats and to shower at home or elsewhere rather than in the club's facilities.
Reval Sport, which operates one gym in Tallinn, is to allow a maximum of 60 people into the facility at a time, and is to use a booking system basis, including for access to its 25-meter swimming pool.
Editor: Andrew Whyte
