Fitness sector representatives perplexed to reopen amid gov’t new conditions

AMMAN — From hope to agony, the Kingdom’s fitness sector representatives face new challenges, following the government’s announcement regarding the reopening of certain sectors.  

During a joint press conference live streamed from the Prime Ministry on Wednesday, Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Maha Al Ali said that lifting restrictions would come in three phases.

Each phase guided by preventative guidelines would allow certain facilities to resume their operations including public pools, fitness centres, cinemas, public parks, among others. 

According to a number of fitness representatives, it seems “unreasonable and unjust” to oblige sports centres’owners to hire a security and quality controller to monitor adherence to COVID protocols in fitness facilities.

They also said that they are unable to pay their employees, so employing a new staff member “will definitely add fuel to the fire”. 

The reopening is accompanied with restrictions on capacity. The fitness industry and other businesses that were stated to reopen in phases two and three of the government’s plans to lift restrictions on closed sectors, are only allowed to operate at 50 per cent capacity, Rima Amer, a sector representative told The Jordan Times over the phone on Thursday.

“Most fitness centres owners are facing threats of eviction and are put under financial pressures and accumulated rental payments and utility fees,” Amer said, noting that fitness operators have invested in huge spaces filled with expensive equipment and machines.

“Those spaces cannot be evacuated in the blink of an eye. Most landlords have not been cooperative and now the government’s conditions will cause a more agonising slowdown,” she added.  

“When the Kingdom’s gyms, fitness centres and other facilities reopened in 2020 after their closure for almost three months due to the pandemic, it has been a very serious blow although they were following strict hygiene protocols and safety guidelines,” Salma Ali, who is manager at a gym, said.

She added that there is nothing wrong with following strict safety protocols, but the thing is that gyms and sports centres are based on shift work, which means two or three quality controllers need to be employed.

Many fitness businesses are at risk of permanent closures, she added, noting that vast numbers of operators are rethinking whether to reopen in such “harsh terms”.

Operating at 50 per cent capacity means that centres cannot accept new memberships, due to already having “memberships from last year that were on freeze,” she said.