Members at Niagara's YMCA branches will be able to return for exercise and fitness classes, starting tomorrow Wednesday.
The reopening of three of the region's five branches comes just days after Ontario Premier Doug Ford officially declared that the province is in the second wave of COVID-19, also noted in the exponential growth of daily cases in the Niagra region over the past week.
Amidst speculation of a possible second lockdown to control the virus, YMCA General Manager for Fitness, Health, and Aquatics, Kim Bentley-MacDonald, says it is not without a degree of nervousness and caution that she and her colleagues at YMCA Niagara will welcome back its patrons to its fitness facilities tomorrow, Wednesday.
"Who isn't nervous right now, with the numbers climbing?" Kim Bentley-MacDonald said.
"This is very unfortunate and not the way we want to see the numbers going, but we know a lot of people want to get back and exercise and connect with their network and community."
Operating fitness facilities, where the intense physical activity provides an increased potential for the virus to spread, is putting high demands on the facility's cleanliness and safety, said Bentley-MacDonald, adding that teams have been hitting the books and government-provided guidelines hard, which returning patrons will notice right at the front door, where a mandatory health check will be performed, screening for symptoms and taking the temperature.
The screening can also be completed beforehand.
"We have taken a lot of precautions and extra steps to make sure staff and members are safe, and we are following the direction of medical professionals," said Bentley-MacDonald.
Other safety measures include asking patrons to sanitize every piece of equipment before and after use and then marking it as 'used', so the equipment can be cleaned by a staff member.
Opening locations will also be closed for deep cleaning several times per day, Bentley-MacDonald said.
Initially, the Walker Family branch in St Catharines, Niagara West in Grimsby and Port Colborne YMCA will be the only locations opening up.
For more information about YMCA Niagara's reopening plan, watch the video below.
