It's Time to Work It Out

Gyms around Michigan have been closed by the Governor’s Executive Order for nearly six months. We are now one of only four states that have not reopened gyms statewide.  

What is clear from states with reopened gyms is that they do not contribute to the spread of COVID. After tracking millions of members using open gyms across the U.S., here is what the data says. 

• Visit to Virus Ratio: 42,731:1 or .002% (49.4 million visits across 2,877 clubs)*

• Over 1,400 gyms in the Planet Fitness chain were open between May 22 and July 21, and only 1 COVID case was subsequently reported for every 135,000 times someone checked-in to use the gym – a rate of 0.0007% 

• California saw a summer spike in COVID cases, but of the 5,465,079 Californians who visited a gym June 12 – July 13, only 92 members subsequently reported COVID, a rate of 0.002%

• Government-conducted contact tracing throughout the U.S. confirms that gyms are not spreading COVID

• While Arkansas experienced a summer spike in COVID cases, contact tracing conducted by the state shows only 0.3% of newly infected individuals had been in a gym at all

• The Government of Norway conducted a trial in which a randomized sample of 1,868 gym members were allowed to go back to reopened gyms, while a control group of another 1,868 were kept out. Not one case of COVID was traced to gym use, so Norway reopened its gyms 

Our gyms have been ready to open for months, adhering to guidelines established by the Michigan Economic Recovery Commission and the CDC. 

Denying millions of Michiganders access to their personal health in the name of protecting public health makes no sense. 

If you are ready to get back to your workout, it’s time to add your voice to the group imploring Governor Whitmer to work it out and reopen gyms statewide. 

Contact Governor Whitmer

Twitter: @GovWhitmer

Facebook messenger: https://www.facebook.com/GovGretchenWhitmer/

Email: Gretchen.Whitmer@michigan.gov

Phone: 517-373-3400

*Source: https://mxmetrics.com/