COVID-19 health restrictions are expected to be eased a little this weekend – but gym and fitness facilities in Brandon are to remain closed.
Earlier this week, there was anger and cries of political privilege after it was learned City of Winnipeg employees had gym access throughout this latest ‘red level’ lockdown.
In an email, the City of Brandon said it “does not have a gym for all City of Brandon employees, but there are gyms at the Brandon Police Service and the Brandon Fire & Emergency Services buildings for the first responders. Both of these gyms were closed as soon as we went into Code Red to follow the public health guidelines.”
There was also an emailed statement from Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin addressing the Winnipeg gym brouhaha.
“Although public health orders cannot technically apply to the operations other levels of government, we expect them to follow the spirit and the intent of those orders. With respect to fitness facilities, a public health inspector provided information to the City of Winnipeg that was incomplete and lacked context.
While it is understandable that firefighters, paramedics and police may need access to such equipment at their workplace to meet the fitness requirements of their duties, a private gym at City Hall or other city facilities for use by elected officials or other city staff does not fall into that description and should not remain open under spirit and intent of Manitoba’s public health orders.”
Back in November, Goodlife Fitness in Brandon was fined $5,000 for failing to ensure enough physical distancing between patrons.
And in an email from the Fitness Industry Council of Canada (FIC) – it says they’ve lobbied for a seat at the table with the Government of Manitoba for the past ten months.
The FIC says “it’s goal has been to be respected as an industry, to be valued for what the industry provides to members, and to be acknowledged as an industry that provides both mental and physical health benefits for all Manitobans.”
They say “the FIC Manitoba Coalition has sent letters and follow-up phone messages almost weekly to the office of Premier Pallister and Dr. Brent Roussin and has yet to receive a reply from either party via email or phone. Through these communication attempts, FIC has attempted to participate in discussions relating to fitness industry operations in Manitoba.”
They say “Dr. Roussin also mentioned that, despite health orders not applying to the operations of other levels of government, inspectors visited these City of Winnipeg sites and deemed them safe. The results of these City inspections fall in line with the hundreds of Manitoba facility inspections deeming these safe places to exercise. Other provinces have had similar challenges with respect to community transmission rates and COVID caseloads, but have allowed fitness facilities to continue to operate so they can meet the public health needs of their residents.”
FIC’s Manitoba Coalition Leader Dino Camiré states, “as a representative of the fitness industry and as a club owner myself, I want to ensure the safety of my members while assisting them with their fitness needs – physical and mental. However, in order to do so, the fitness industry needs clear and standardized regulations that apply to everyone, and I am more than willing to be included in the conversation that determines what this looks like in Manitoba.”
Details about Manitoba’s Provincial COVID-19 Response Levels can be found at https://www.manitoba.ca/covid19/
