Gyms and yoga centres to reopen: Here are the guidelines issued by the government

Ever since the lockdown came into effect in the month of March, the majority of fitness enthusiasts were confined to working out from home with the help of online fitness tutorials and DIY weights. So, if you were missing working up some serious sweat in the gym, we have a piece of good news for you. As part of the Unlock phase 3, the government of India has allowed fitness centres, gymnasiums and yoga institutions to reopen from August 5, 2020. It should be noted that fitness centres in containment zones will continue to remain closed, until further notice from the centre.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued certain guidelines to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus as the fitness centres, gymnasiums and yoga centres are lifting their shutters from tomorrow. It should be noted that the pandemic is still looming large, even if things are slowly opening up. Here are the major takeaways from the guidelines issued by the MHA on the reopening of fitness institutes:

As per the guidelines, yoga kriya should be avoided for the time being but if one needs to practise it, it should be done in open spaces. People may follow the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Ayush for the same.

According to the guidelines, people above the age of 65 years, adults with co-morbidities, pregnant women and children below the age of 10 should not use fitness centres, gyms and yoga institutions in closed spaces.

Gym users should be allocated batches to ensure staggered timings and avoiding overcrowding of people during exit and entrance. All the batches should have a break of 15-30 minutes between them to avoid overlap between members arriving and leaving.

The guidelines also state that people must wear face covers and face masks at the premises of fitness centres. However, while exercising or yoga kriya, they may use a visor. The guideline also noted that using masks and face covers while working out (especially N 95 mask) can cause breathing difficulties.

During personal training in yoga institutes or gymnasiums, one must ensure a distance of six feet between the trainer and clients whenever feasible. The sessions should be tailored to include only those exercises which do not need physical contact between the trainer and the clients.

Given the concerns of airborne transmission of the novel coronavirus, the guidelines also emphasize using outdoor spaces of fitness institutes whenever possible.

In order to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, people must sanitize their hands both before and after using gym equipment.