As California moves along in its path to reopen from the coronavirus pandemic, the state is allowing gyms, among other businesses, to reopen on Friday.
Fresno based gym George Brown Sports Clubs – commonly known as GB3 – has worked closely with the Fresno County Department of Public Health to develop a plan to follow the state’s guidelines for reopening.
County Interim Health Officer Dr. Rais Vohra said Monday during his coronavirus briefing that he toured a GB3 facility with owner George Brown last week and was impressed with Brown’s reopening plans.
“We look forward to having people really take care of their bodies,” Vohra said. “We know that that’s a big part of mental health and physical health when you can get some regular exercise, and George has done a wonderful job with ensuring that his facility will be ready to go by the start date.”
Vohra encouraged all gyms throughout the county to work with the Department of Public Health to formulate a reopening plan.
After closing down on March 18 due to the pandemic, all GB3 locations are set to reopen Friday at 4 a.m., GB3 General Manager Sean Clinton told The Sun.
GB3 has changed up the floor plan in each facility to accommodate for the recommended social distancing measures.
“We went through each club, and we redid the floorplans at all clubs,” Clinton said. “When people work out, they can feel comfortable that there’s space, they’re in the right spot.”
There is a 6 to 8-foot radius around all of the exercise equipment to provide adequate space for guests, Clinton said.
GB3 does not have any plans to limit guest capacity, but Clinton expects the gyms to be able to handle about 80 to 90 percent of its total members.
In the initial reopening phase, GB3 will not offer any classes, access to the pools or have the day care facilities open, which will help mitigate overcrowding. But Clinton said those amenities should start to open up over the next few weeks.
The gyms will close an hour early every day to give staff extra time to perform deep cleaning every night.
During the day while the gyms are open, GB3 will ask all members to wipe down equipment before and after use, and employees will clean the equipment throughout the day too.
