By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Financially-crippled gyms say they are wrongly targeted by prolonged Covid lockdown.
Dandenong Genesis Health & Fitness owner Sean Whitaker has owned his gym in Scott Street for nearly nine years, helping thousands get fit, stronger, learn to swim and keep healthy with a #GetDandyMoving campaign.
But the start-and-stop lockdowns are devastating his business.
More frustrating is that indoor venues such as cafes re-opened in Melbourne on 11 June, but indoor gyms remained shut.
The latest three weeks have cost “tens of thousands of dollars” with still rent, insurance, rates to pay, Mr Whitaker says.
He’s little helped by the State’s $2000 top-up support during the Covid ‘circuit-breaker’.
Many of his 20 staff – cleaners, fitness instructors, swim teachers, managers and personal trainers – have gone without an income and without Federal Government support.
The gym’s income is also zero because all memberships are on hold.
Mr Whitaker says the gym industry has been among the last to re-open after lockdowns.
“Even then it was with heavy restrictions,” he says.
“In our first week back in November 2020, we were allowed a maximum of 20 customers on site – in a venue that is more than 2500 square metres.”
Once those restrictions eased, Genesis lost 20 per cent of its members. And had to work hard in early 2021 to try to restore its numbers to “near pre-lockdown” levels.
The gym industry argues that it’s Covid-safe – 6.4 million Victorians checking in without one Covid transmission in recent months.
And that it provides a vital service for physical and mental health for customers.
It argues that it provides “gold standard” protocols such as arrival check-in, CCTV, social distancing and sanitation.
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said gyms were “high-risk environments” with “significant opportunity for spread”.
Even with cleaning and social distancing, the “aerosol spread” was “very hard to mitigate”.
