Is my gym Covid secure?

Is my gym Covid secure?

Keeping yourself active is an essential part to your wellbeing. It is proven fact that exercise increases endorphins, which in turn lifts moods and makes you feel better.

Being stuck in your own home for the last year has had major effect on people’s wellbeing, decreasing motivation while increasing loneliness and depression. The lucky ones have gardens, or live in rural areas, meaning they can go outside for walks to stay active and clear their heads.

Some people, however, do not have these facilities and rely on the gym for their source of stress release. Therefore, it is your responsibility as a gym/leisure centre owner to keep within the guidelines, making sure your members can continue using your facilities.

Social Distancing

Although a lot of gyms are inside, evidence suggests that keeping a distance of 2 metres or more greatly reduces the risk of transmission.

Gyms will need to think about the layout of their floor, positioning of machinery, walkways, and many other areas.  Most gyms may have to remove some equipment to make space for people to train safely, or change the direction of some machines to make sure gym-users aren’t breathing into a group of people or passers-by.

You will need to supply both anti-bac sanitiser and wipes all around the facility, and all members should be required to wipe down each item of machinery or equipment after use. This is a major factor as, if everyone were to do this, the risk of spread will be massively reduced.

Cleaning Touchpoints

As mentioned above, cleaning the machinery and equipment is very important. It is equally important for staff members to wipe down any touchpoints around the facility. These include things like railings, door handles, water taps, mirrors and many more.

It’s estimated that approximately 80% of infections are spread by touch, so keeping on top of wiping surfaces is extremely important.

Face Masks

Wearing a face mask is something we are all used to by now, as all shops and all inside facilities require them.

However, wearing a face mask while exercising can do more damage than good. Covering your mouth will affect your oxygen intake; this can increase the chance of light-headedness, dizziness, tingling and shortness of breath which can result in someone passing out.

Although wearing the mask when training/exercising is dangerous, wearing it while entering and walking round the building is something all gyms should enforce. This stops people transmitting while passing by others.

Ventilation

Another important mitigating factor is ventilation. It is vital that you have an active ventilation system optimised to ensure fresh air is provided around the facility and increased in areas of high intensity exercise.

Guidelines state there is a low chance of COVID spreading through air con. However, you should be actively cleaning these units to further reduce the risk of spread.

Track and Trace

It’s important to remember that, unlike restaurants and pubs, gyms have been operating on a swipe card or sign-in basis for years. That means they know the names and details of every member in their facilities, at any moment, allowing them to take immediate steps to alert members of any risk in the event of an incident.

Since the introduction of track and trace, all members are now required to sign in through the app when they enter the gym. The app will alert users if they have come into contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19.

If you are looking for sports centre and gym insurance, get in contact with us today for a quote. 

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