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On May 4, the Multi-Ministry Taskforce announced that indoor gymnasiums, as well as fitness and health studios in Singapore will have to close over the next few weeks from May 8 to 30, 2021.

Update to safe management measures

SportSG issued an update to the safe management measures on Friday, May 7, saying that certain gyms and studios will be allowed to operate if they "only offer low-intensity physical activities, sport and exercises".

Their statement said:

"Indoor public and private gyms and fitness/exercise/dance studios, including those operated by commercial enterprises, country clubs, golf clubs, private apartments, condominiums and charities, are to close during the stipulated period, unless they only offer low intensity physical activities, sport and exercises where all participants and instructors are wearing masks at all times."

These facilities will not be allowed to offer weight, strength or resistance training. No equipment should also be provided for such training as these are associated with strenuous activities, said SportSG.

Participants, instructors and staff also have to adhere to a more stringent set of safe management measures, SportSG added.

In a Facebook post, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong said that this decision was following their conversations with business owners in the sport and fitness industry over the past few days.

"They understand why these measures are needed, and gave us candid views and also practical suggestions."

Tong also said that they are working on financial support measures to help those that will have to remain closed.

Gyms & studios are "higher-risk"

MTF had said during the May 4 online press conference that such indoor spaces are higher-risk settings.

Such settings and the associated activities are where there is a high density of people who are frequently unmasked and in close proximity with many other unmasked people, often for prolonged periods, the MTF said.

While indoor gyms and studios will have to close, unless they only offer low-intensity physical activity, outdoor organised exercise programmes or classes may still continue.

This is subjected to a class size of 30 attendees in total, with safe distancing measures, including group sizes of up to five persons and a 3m distance between each group.

Top photo via Gina Lin/Unsplash.