The government's pandemic task force has allowed gyms, fitness studios, and other indoor-non contact sports venues in the National Capital Region-plus (NCR-plus) bubble area to resume operations at 30 percent venue capacity.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque made the statement after he mentioned in his press briefing on Thursday, June 10, that the resumption of gyms will be one of the topics to be discussed in the meeting of the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
In a statement, Roque said the IATF allowed the limited operations of the following establishments with safety seal certifications in NCR-plus:
- Gyms
- Fitness studios
- Skating rinks
- Racket sports courts
On Thursday, Roque said that the IATF would be talking about the reopening of gyms because people were getting fatter because of the closure of the said establishments.
"Isa sa pag-uusapan ay iyong pagbubukas ng gym dahil talaga naman po iyong mga gaya ko na dati nang mataba ay lalong tumaba dahil wala pong gym (One of the things that will be discussed are the reopening of gyms because people like me who are fat ever since are getting fatter because gyms are closed)," he said.
In March this year, gyms, fitness centers, and spas were still allowed to operate at up to 75 percent venue capacity in the NCR-plus however, Metro Manila mayors voted to keep them closed to prevent the further spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) amid the spike of cases.
NCR-plus consists of Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal.
Last week, Roque said the government's pandemic task force decided to temporarily prohibit the operations of gyms in GCQ with restrictions as scientific data showed that indoor fitness studios were among the places that could potentially trigger “superspreader” events.
"There’s a science behind it na talagang susceptible talaga for super spreader events ang mga gyms (gyms are really susceptible for superspreaders events) because of the nature of the activity that goes in there," he said.