Anonymous
December 18, 2020, 8:33 am
13.6k Views
63 Comments
By an edhat reader
Are gyms allowed to be open indoors? I thought they were supposed to open for outdoor exercise only, but I’m seeing several fitness centers (large and small) welcoming people indoors. One even papered their windows. Doesn’t this violate the health order and what can be done?
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People think that by going to gyms they are “staying healthy” so they can fight the virus if they get it but what they do not understand is, as a novel virus, our systems do not readily recognize the invader and cannot act quickly enough before getting overwhelmed with it which results in severe illness versus a mild case. Another factor that determines immune system ability to fight is viral load ie. how much virus you inhale – the more load, the more easily and quickly the body gets overwhelmed [versus smaller load which allows the body time to fight and results in milder illness]. Being inside in a gym almost guarantees a larger viral load so yeah – not the best way to “stay healthy” during this – outside is better.
CHEMICAL good luck reaching public health. You have to call 211. The local PDs are not enforcing but the Sheriff will so that is who to call.
No one is denying that the virus isn’t real or has potential risks if you acquire it, we are saying that we will not let the virus nor the government control our lives for the next few years. How you choose to go about your life should be your personal decision. No one is forcing people to be at the gym, let alone indoors.
If I catch COVID from someone who went to an indoor gym I’m not only suing them personally but also the gym owner. Guaranteed.
Exactly! Nothing is truly essential if you think about it. If you need food, start growing food then! Going to your favorite pizza place is not a priority if you want to play the “essentials” game.
How would you possibly know where you got it from? You are just as likely to get covid standing in line at Target.
Where does it say that being indoors with a mask on while social distancing in a gym is high risk of getting the virus? And how does that differ from standing in line to buy Christmas gifts?
Except your irresponsible behavior may lead to the death of other people. Why can’t you freedumb yoyos figure that out?
mmmm… No you’re not… Risk = distance x time ( and other factors). You are going to beworking out next someone in gym way longer than the time you are in line at a store.
1:12 PM : You seem to be denying that the virus is real, exactly as implied by you first sentence.
Wearing a mask 6 feet away from someone and constantly sanitizing everything you use sounds fine to me. Once again, it’s your life. Choose how you live it.
Open up, deaths increase. Close down, deaths decrease. Open up, deaths go up. Close down, deaths go down.
How many times must this cycle repeat before we start behaving rationally?
Open businesses in defiance of the health order should have their owners prosecuted for assault.
Whoa, looks like all the gym owners in Santa Barbara read edhat. Personally I feel more comfortable staying far away from the sweaty guys who never clean the equipment and pace in front of the mirror staring at themselves. It’s not sanitary, it IS a health risk. People in Target are not sweating, spitting, and grunting next to me in line.
Love how you have to go to name calling instead of making a valid argument. The people who defend gyms are the ones who either manage or work there, and will be out of work if they have to close business. The second you step out of your house there is risk, whether that’s driving a car, walking in an alley alone, or going to the gym. You cannot blame others for what happens to you if you choose to leave your home. All you can do is what you believe is best for yourself.
SUPPORT SMALL they can mount their defense in court. I don’t think it’s going to bode well when they come to court with unclean hands from opening up and those who are going against mandates.
Andrea, I called public health, got through on the first attempt, and spoke directly with one of the two people in charge of the epidemiology department. They have direct numbers listed, but you need to hunt for them on their webpage.
I agree that heard immunity is crucial for this virus. At the rate we are going with cases, however, it is going to take a very long time to develop that. A big concern is also how many people will actually be willing to take the vaccine. Hopefully a lot, but as with the flu vaccine, some people don’t agree with it unfortunately
Yep! We have to allow our community to get cases in order to develop heard immunity. I believe that it is best to look at the ICU numbers, but Santa Barbara and SLO should be put in a new category that is apart from la and San Diego.
Some people may have “heard” immunity. The trumper has “herd mentality”. Epidemiologists refer to herd immunity.
Reaching herd immunity with a virus this deadly in the absence of a vaccine means accepting lots of death and permanent disability, so it’s not done that way, if at all possible, in a society where the lives and health of the general population matter.
Fact-checking the herd immunity strategy: https://www.factcheck.org/2020/11/paul-misleads-on-natural-infection-and-covid-19-vaccines/
This deadly? OMG people are horrible at math…
1:52 PM – Only in the alternate facts universe do deaths not track opening up.
That data and science show that with proper protocols indoor gyms are NOT a high transmission risk. Why are you okay punishing hardworking employees and small business owners who were following the protocols and NOT contributing to the spread? California Health & Human Services Agency Secretary – Mark Ghaly even said these latest restrictions weren’t about the relative safety of a certain activity but about trying to force people to stay home. Multiple CA judges have ruled these restrictions are “not grounded in science, evidence, or logic.” JUST STAY HOME SAC and you will be fine. The rest of us will venture out, safely, against a virus 99.97% of us will survive IF we even contract it.
People who are bad at math, economics, medicine, and facing reality are here advocating for opening up. They want to devastate both the health of the populace and the economy of the country in the long run, in favor of short term profit. But, not looking at the long term is a cherished hallmark of American business.
Everyone should make note of businesses that do not value the health of the community, and never patronize them again.
VOR – why should I have to stay home? I have every right to conduct by affairs safely. Why do you support rule violations over my right to live a semi-normal life? Why should I be punished by staying home just so others can freely violate health and safety rules? Explain your 180 on law and order and personal responsibility. Or does it only matter when it’s generally “liberals” who are being negatively affected by the rule breakers?
VOR – stop citing judges’ decisions as matters of science. Judges determine the law, based on facts, not the science. Why do you ignore all the scientists and doctors saying there IS a relation? The judges only determine whether an action (lock down) based on the facts was legal or not. It’s ENTIRELY, 100% not a judgment on science, just the law. The law can say it was an overstep, but that’s not at all based on the science. If an action violates a law, which some of this may, it is not the same as saying it’s not warranted from a medical/scientific basis.
Again, these decisions are not saying there’s no evidence that the spread is affected or not by closing businesses, ONLY that the decision oversteps the law. It’s a nuance, but I think you understand.
As per Public Health, schools should be open. You have opposed that (and by extension science) multiple times on this forum. I know this has nothing to do with the gyms, but careful quoting “alternate facts” when you have personally used them multiple times in saying schools should be closed.
Incorrect Sac but let’s hold here real quick. At least we can agree that per multiple judges the state and county governments have overstepped it’s authorizations, i.e. broken the law. It is ENTIRELY 100% NOT OKAY for the government to buck the law and we should be screaming from the rooftops in opposition to that. Now answer me this, if the scientist and doctors at our state and county health departments had evidence there was relation, why didn’t they show it? Scientist and doctors wouldn’t just say something without proof right? You’re ignoring what California Health & Human Services Agency Secretary, Mark Ghaly said, that these restrictions aren’t about the relative safely of the activities but about forcing people to stay in their homes. The head doctor/scientist in the state is even saying that there IS NOT a relation.
Per the Public health department press release on 12/5/2020 about the regional stay at home order, indoor operation of gyms is prohibited. Per a friend of mine via zoom, most of the gyms are banding together to ignore it.
And…this is why my kids will never be able to go back to school…
It’s wrong.
Actually our kids will “never” go back to school because the school board is beholden to the teachers union…and they truly don’t care about our kids best interest. According to Public Health, not only is it safe for kids to be in school…it’s safer!
So to recap, we’ve closed schools which has tangibly made the world a worse, less intelligent AND less safe place! The trifecta! Great work school board/insane teachers Union…thanks!
You don’t know who handled those online packages! Those people could also have covid-19 and when they sneeze on your packages you could also become infected!
I don’t know about you but I for sure don’t want to but my family at risk like that
Flat earther….
Yes gyms are open. I’m pleased and happy to repeat the news that we have, in fact, caught and killed a large predator that supposedly injured some bathers. But, as you see, it’s a beautiful day, the beaches are open and people are having a wonderful time.
Oh look, a populist epidemiologist telling the rest of us how to live!
Not to mention these open gyms have zero respect for our medical workers who are overstretched and exhausted and risking their own lives during all this. Many of them feel that people who do this just do not care and they don’t even want to work in that field anymore. Then what? Just so selfish. This pandemic has really brought out the best and worst in people.
@Baby, free membership for what??? They are not providing an essential service. Gyms are not a necessity. You can go on a run, do push ups and sit ups. You don’t NEED a gym. This is 100% selfish on the part of the owners by staying open.
Americans are not hearty people in my opinion. They are petulant and childish. I have family in Europe, they all do what they are being asked to do and not screaming and throwing tantrums. People here really have not gone through true suffering and it shows. This is nothing really in the big scheme of life – and the more people resist like this the longer we will be in this mess – instead of just buckling down and doing what we need to do to get through this, they cause trouble for all of us.
If you think “working out” is a health problem I have a truck load of cigarettes for your stay at home health.
Per 1970’s health advice from the Government.
Sorry if you were not around then to understand the gist.
Move to Europe please.
Heck,I will buy 10 people like a one way ticket to ANY other country.
Thanks Shmonk
Well stated Duke!
Mind your own business. Stay home, stay safe.
VOR – when businesses that have high transmission risk activities such as an indoor gym, it is everyone’s business. I work hard to be safe so I can go out and handle basic needs – groceries, take out dinner to support local restaurants, Christmas shopping, etc etc. In order for us to not be completely locked down, we need to all work together to follow the rules. An indoor gym is a clear violation of those rules. Why do you want to punish the law-abiding citizens? Seems like a 180 from the standard anti-crime stance of most Republicans.
Posting a question like that on Edhat is just inviting trouble, but maybe that’s the idea. A rational person would have contacted the Santa Barbara Public Health Department to obtain the official answers to these questions. Did you call the SBPHD? What did they say? If they said that the gyms were in violation of the health order and suggested calling the police, did you? What did the police say? It appears that I have more questions for the OP than they do for the Edhat community.
Why are you even outside going to do those things? You should be staying home for non essential travel.
I don’t think shopping for Xmas is essential. I have cancelled Xmas this year. My children and family will not be receiving gifts
Yeah some gyms are open locally. Thanks to TicTok, Swell gym has quite a few members making videos inside the gym, locker room, and on equipment.
But you’re still going to the gym right?
yeah gyms are staying open. Just don’t go if you don’t want
My God, how many times do we have to go through this? When it comes to COVID, YOUR BUSINESS IS EVERYONE’S BUSINESS. You cannot keep the risk to yourself, full stop. Report these antisocial fools.
Small Businesses in Santa Barbara are being crushed. Not everyone believes in relying on unemployment and stimulus packages for the next two years. I think people forget that you are putting hundreds of people out of work every time a business sector closes down.
The people who attend these gyms are not oblivious to the potentially dangerous effects this virus has, we simply choose to not let it control our lives. It is your decision to stay home and not workout, let people make their own decision. There has been no correlation between gyms that have people wearing masks and more cases occurring.
The best we can do is stay healthy (by going to the gym), so if we do eventually get the virus, our bodies have a chance to get through it.
The Santa Barbara Covid Butterfly Effect: a random person goes to a gym then another random person across town drops dead.
My Environmental Geology instructor once said, “Humans will always be in Harms way”
One part of the globe is on fire, he other side has a hurricane, the other region just endured an Eartquake induced tsunami where vasts portion of the Island was unpassable due to Radiactive material, remember Fukishima, still in same state rt now…And everyones worried about a virus that is predertimed by nature to strike whomever gets it due to their genetic make up, blood types, diets, and body types, vaccines, you cant stop it, just like that storm that is coming ourway….CarpeDiem-
Content and form both display remarkable levels of lack of knowledge.
You do realize strip clubs and casinos are open? I would worry more about those business. I work at a retail store. We have many people coming in everyday. All wear masks. Some not properly we are use precautions. Not one of our 30 employees have been sick. We can not loose our country and the freedoms to feed out families. It’s not possible for government to care for everyone and keep our country from heading in the direction of my homeland which I fled many years ago. Think hard what is happening please.
I know plenty of people in Europe that are resisting.
If you all were really worried about your children’s education you would find a way to get it done plain and simple. Just like I did. You would be focusing on how to feed your kids and yourself and make $$ not on how many gyms are open and who’s doing what. Focus on yourself. The government doesn’t care about us
Honest question to a lot of the lockdown proponents. Where do you think we’d be today, if back in March the media and Gov. Newsom said that as long as we isolate the elderly, 99.9% of the people who contract Covid-19 will survive, and the total amount of Californian lives lost to this virus would be 40-50,000 people? These are the stats we now know to be true, and a reasonable estimate of total lives that will be lost, instead of the wildly incorrect “2-3 MILLION Californians will perish” the original “models” predicted. Would your position today be different? Would we have even locked down back in March? Would schools have closed for single day? How many years of life has our response cost society? How much has our response increased education and income inequality in California? When looking at the nominal difference between CA and states that took a more hands off approach, providing guidance and directions rather than mandates and restrictions, is CA’s response worth it?
Or, some cretinous fool flaps their lips on the internet denying the seriousness of the pandemic, and thoughtless acolytes regurgitate the propaganda.
BigUglyStick – We just elected (and reelected) a whole bunch of school board members who don’t care about our kids…so…we’re screwed any and every way!!!
Yep…exactly why some of us were bemoaning the insanity of not applying for the waiver! The school board punted any/all responsibility and care…and now here we are!! Crazy that we stuck with the ignore science stay closed incumbants.
Well, Duke, thankfully Betsy DeVos will be OUTTA there and maybe we can finally clean up our school system and elect people who actually care about kids.
Working out inside of an indoor gym sounds like a recipe for disaster! WHY can’t people understand that California is the epicenter of Coronavirus right now, and that cases are spiking at an unprecedented rate, and that ICU beds are at an all-time crisis low? STAY HOME, people, or work out OUTSIDE, far away from others!!!!