CANADIAN PHYSIQUE ALLIANCE March/April 2021 | Page 26

DEFYING LOGIC ?

ARE THE RESTRICTIONS AND CLOSURES TRULY SENSIBLE ? BY JOHN DOUGLAS

This is not a call to arms . This is not a rationalization of the government ’ s response to the pandemic and this is not an attack on the individuals who still have access to their gyms , you need them and that is understood . Everyone has their own theories and suppositions on this pandemic , this article does not fall on either side so please do not assume I am for or against anything mentioned here . I like common sense and am just searching for that .
Gym closures like many of the business closures across Canada have truly defied logic . This is just one take on why it should not have happened .
In the original iterations of the restrictions placed on businesses were heightened and enhanced cleaning protocols . Most gyms took this to heart .
As times progressed restrictions got tighter and tighter to a point where the amount of patrons allowed in a gym were not really worth opening the doors . Over and over we heard the governments tell us that data was showing increases in cases and deaths based on their projection models . After a time the government finally shut down everything , sort of .
So there is the premise , all with very little data being made public .
People are generally compassionate and understanding when presented with a set of rules that in theory is based on a community ’ s health . That theory is supposed to be proven out by the data and statistics collected . In the case of gyms and fitness facilities this was just not the case .
During a shutdown in Ontario for example , after months of complying with , after spending thousands of dollars on measures and equipment to comply with and training staff to accommodate the restrictions the government simply ordered the gyms closed . Most of them anyway , I ’ ll get back to that . The data that was published stated that there were 12 cases in gyms across Ontario . 12 cases in the hundreds ( or more ) of gyms in Ontario . It was also reported that 7 of these cases were from 1 gym . Thousands upon thousands of members and 12 cases across the entire province . Logically this did not make sense .
Time passed and eventually businesses were allowed to reopen with more restrictions , limitations and supposedly greater scrutiny . As short lived as that was , it was working . Gyms were complying , clients were complying , begrudgingly and everything was on a smooth course to a better reality than months past .
As is with most things , life happened , people , businesses and even the government got lazy with the protocols that were to be followed . In all fairness though , the protocols were / are confusing and ever changing so people and businesses had a hard time keeping up . Governments in some areas stopped their own protocols in contact tracing and enforcement rules allowing people to do as they pleased with really no enforcement .
So , not many people were aggressively following the rules , most businesses did what they could to stay open and the government continued with the programs they set in place but were not enforcing anything .
In to November we go , earlier in some provinces and cities and the shutdowns and restrictions were looming again .
In most provinces gyms were being shutdown except the criteria or excuse depending on your point of view was that heavy work outs could cause the spread of the virus because you expel so much more air during a heavy work out . Okay , logical yes , but then why were all provincially and federally run agencies who had gyms on premises allowed to stay open ? If the virus could be spread in a privately owned gym could it not spread in a government owned facility ? If you say it because the gyms for the most part are for frontline line workers and first responders I would have to ask why ? Why are you allowing these people to be exposed with just as high a risk and frankly more responsibility than your average Joe ? Logically would that not deplete the frontline workers and first responders if the gyms were as much a danger as purported ? I won ’ t mention who the following quote is attributed to but again it makes no logical sense . “... the provincial and federal 26