Gyms and yoga studios announce closures in Singapore due to stricter social distancing measures
In a poll conducted by Yahoo Lifestyle SEA, 55% of respondents voted ‘No’, when asked if they would be going to the gyms during this coronavirus outbreak. And it’s no surprise why; following the government’s announcement on stricter social distancing measures, many gyms and yoga studios have taken the harder route of shutting down operations to flatten the curve.
On Wednesday (25 March), Virgin Active Singapore announced the closure of all its six clubs across the island until 30 April. The club has frozen membership accounts automatically, and no payment will be collected during this closure period. To support members, trainers are conducting online workouts on their app and across their social media channels. This comes after the gym announced that two of their members tested positive for COVID-19 on 16 March.
Fitness First Singapore also announced their closure yesterday (26 March), across all 19 outlets on the island. Members’ accounts will be frozen from today until 30 April, and the gym is resuming operations on 1 May. The gym chain will also be launching a new series of virtual group fitness classes online via their social media pages.
Gym studio Yoga Movement will also shut all six of its studios today, to minimise the spread. “We feel it’s best to let the world cleanse itself for a month while we also work on our studio spaces so that you can return to the mats for the best YM experience,” the company added. Classes that were booked by members today will be automatically cancelled, and credits will be returned to their accounts. The company will resume operations on 1 May as well.
Fitness centers Pure Yoga and Pure Fitness are also temporarily closing all of their Singapore locations for 14 days, starting today. Both chains will re-open on 10 April after “giving every club a deep clean to optimize the safety of our environment,” the companies shared on their social media pages. Members will receive a 14-day suspension without charge.
Amore Fitness gym is suspending all classes today until 30 April, “to safeguard the health and well-being of all our members and staff,” according to an announcement on the company’s social media page. Memberships are automatically suspended and will be reinstated on 1 May.
Other gyms are staying open while adhering to the social distancing measures. Gym chain Anytime Fitness Singapore has remained open, saying: “All of our 60+ Anytime Fitness clubs are continuing efforts and preventive measures to keep our space clean, sanitized, and safe for you while adhering to the Ministry of Health’s guidelines during these times,” the company shared in an announcement on their social media page.
Cycling studio Absolute Cycle has increased the number of classes across their studios, while reducing the number of attendees per class.
The Faculty of Calisthenics and Yoga studio is reducing the number of their class size to six, as well as minimising the usage of towels and props, in a statement shared on the company’s Facebook page.
With the US overtaking China and Italy as the country with the most coronavirus cases, with more than 81,300 confirmed cases so far, governments around the world are taking no chances in implementing stricter measures, including travel bans and movement control orders. Singapore’s government has also instructed the closure of all bars and entertainment venues – such as night clubs, discos, cinemas, theatres, and karaoke outlets – till end-April, as part of stricter measures to combat the coronavirus outbreak here.
