After Governor Inslee's announcement Sunday that gyms will have to shutter for at least the next four weeks, fitness centers locally and across the state have been left again without revenue.

"We had been open now for six weeks. We had started our slow ramp back to cash flow." WORX owner Blair McHaney said, "We will now shut off all of those dues. We went without collecting any dues for almost seven months, and now it will be at least one more month, probably two to three more months. Imagine in a twelve month period that you are without revenue for eight of those months."

While WORX should be able to sustain itself through the shutdown, McHaney explained that many small businesses in the fitness center industry may not be able to. He said reopening should not be confused with success, as operating at 25% capacity just gets a business' foot back on the path to recovery.

McHaney also stated that the Governor's Office gave no indication Inslee's decision was coming, even as recently as a Thursday conference call. He said the Governor's Office seemed "pleased" with the fitness center during the call.

The WRAC Fitness and Athletic Club Manager Evy Gillian explained that she doesn't know what to anticipate going forward, as the last time gyms were shut down the Governor's Office said it would be two weeks, and it ended up being almost 8 months.

"We're closing our doors. Our staff is going on unemployment. We have everybody having to be laid off again." Gillian said, "Our members are without a place to get in and out of the weather and stay healthy and active."

Fitness centers, like many other businesses, have also had to make substantial investments to continue to operate, including HVAC improvements and adding air scrubbers. Gillian said she doesn't understand that with those investments, along with continued mask compliance and an inherently easier way to contact trace, gyms are being treated more harshly than most other businesses in Washington State.

To add to the confusion, Gillian added that while private fitness centers must shutter, university recreation departments are being told they can continue to operate.

So is going to the gym a greater risk than any other business during the pandemic? McHaney said that the narrative of gyms being places where COVID can spread more easily is false and does the sector a huge disservice. Data collected from Washington State, Oregon, Colorado, and the federal government all show the opposite, according to McHaney, and the Governor's Office was provided that data.

The Washington Fitness Alliance wrote a letter to the Governor's Office asking Jay Inslee to reconsider his decision.

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