A coalition of D.C. fitness businesses is asking the District to make an exception for vaccinated members from wearing masks while working out.
The DC Fitness Alliance, which formed last year, recently approached D.C. leaders with an offer that echoes policies enacted in other places, including New York City, 鈥渁llowing us to move to a vaccinated-only format, but allow our clients in that format to remove their masks,鈥� said Bryan Myers, president of Solid Core.
鈥淲e want to get people vaccinated,鈥� said David Von Storch, the president of Vida Fitness.
鈥淚f you have two strategies: Strategy A, masks everywhere, please get vaccinated. Strategy B, you must be vaccinated to go to a bar, into a restaurant, into a gym, we believe that we鈥檙e going to be more successful getting more people vaccinated with Plan B 鈥� and there has to be an incentive for people to get vaccinated.”
He added: 鈥淭hat incentive, of course, is not having to wear a mask.”
The return of D.C.’s mask mandate is a result of rising community spread of the delta variant of COVID-19. The DC Fitness Alliance said it understands why the District took the action it did, but it points out that 鈥渨e have not had a single super-spread event in a gym or a studio, period,鈥� said Van Storch.
He said gyms and fitness studios have taken significant steps to improve ventilation and filtration, but haven鈥檛 seen the rebound that the restaurant and bar industry has seen in customers.
鈥淲e are industry that hasn鈥檛 really received the support that other industries have had,鈥� according to Van Storch.
鈥淎nd the thing that really is sort of frustrating for us is that we are, of all the industries, we are the industry that is most closely aligned with health and getting past the pandemic.鈥�
He argues it鈥檚 in the District’s best interest 鈥� from a health and safety perspective 鈥� to work toward keeping “the gyms open, keep the studios open, and keep people energized and activated in those facilities to stay healthy.鈥�
鈥淭his is not our opinion,鈥� said Myers. 鈥淭he city actually released data last fall based on their contact tracing efforts about where the spread was coming from, and you did not see gyms and fitness facilities anywhere close to the top of that list. 鈥� We are actually basing this conversation on the facts as we know it and as the data that the city provided has shown.鈥�
91欧美激情 reached out to D.C. health leaders for their response and was provided a by DC Health Director Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt touting the effectiveness of masks worn indoors.
While Von Storch acknowledged that D.C. wasn鈥檛 dismissive of the DCFA’s pleas, he said he came away from a meeting with health leaders with no real expectation that the situation would be changing anytime soon.
Meanwhile, Myers seemed a bit more optimistic.
鈥淚 think that they were receptive to our situation but also steadfast in their conservatism, at least at this stage to protect community spread 鈥� the only way they know for sure, which are masks.鈥�
Myers said that while he agreed with Von Storch that a pilot program predicated on proof of vaccination didn鈥檛 seem to be on the horizon either: 鈥淚t didn鈥檛 also sound like it was completely off the table for the future.鈥�
