MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Montevideo gyms get back to work (out)

People are “adapting perfectly to the protocol,” Rapalin said

Montevideo's gyms, clubs and sports centres reopened their doors Monday, albeit with only 30% per cent capacity allowed and provided all sanitary protocols are observed.

Gym owners had been pressing the Government of President Luis Lacalle Pou for clearance to their reopening, which finally arrived from the National Sports Secretariat (SND), the Planning and Budget Office (OPP) and the Ministry of Public Health (MSP).

Chamber of Gymnasiums and Associates (CUGA) Chairwoman Lourdes Rapalin told Montevideo Portal they were “very anxious about the reopening.” She added that it was “like starting from scratch, like starting over.”

Rapalin added that “it is a new experience for us and the response from all of us on a general level was totally successful“ and it showed how the population was becoming more aware of the essentiality of physical activity and the importance of playing sports.

She also pointed out that people were ”adapting perfectly to the protocol,“ because they ”understand it, for us it is difficult because we have a capacity of 30%. We are below half steam, but the important thing is that we are working and doing what we like, so that was very well accepted. We know that with time it is going to become more flexible, but the response has been very good,“ she explained.

Rapalin underlined that ”people abide by (the protocols), they accept it very well and we know that we carry a double responsibility for the issue, so we do not move a little bit from the protocols. We know that we have a great responsibility,“ she added.

The main problem remains, according to Rapalin, the allocation of training times to never exceed 30% capacity. She also said she doubted gyms would ever be closed again. ”When they closed us, it was to lower the cases and it got worse and worse. It was to lower mobility and mobility increased because we do not govern mobility. People are in their neighbourhood in their place and their bubble, we do not modify mobility.”

But now there are protocols in force whereby “if there were any contagion” only that particular gym would need to be closed and not all of them.

 

 

Source: Montevideo Portal