The alarm clock will ring on Wednesday, June 9 for the sports halls, asleep since the end of September 2020. Even if, from December, they were able to welcome high-level athletes and those with a medical certificate. For club managers, the flavor of this long-awaited recovery does not eclipse the aftertaste of uncertainty. Will the members be there? Will they come back to wear out their soles on the treadmills, pump up their muscles on the bench press?
A few days before their comeback, the establishments contacted by The world seem rather confident. According to their customer surveys, the majority of their subscribers consider themselves ready to come back within the next few weeks. “I plan to go back as soon as it reopens, I really miss it. The health constraints do not slow me down at all ”, says Manon Chiffolleau, a young subscriber to Basic-Fit.
Yet the health threat persists. “For those who attend sports halls, the risk of Covid contamination is increased by 22%”, alert Arnaud Fontanet, epidemiologist at the Institut Pasteur and member of the scientific council. A fear shared by Vincent Maréchal, professor of virology at Sorbonne-University. “In these places, many parameters favor viral transmission. There is a high density, no mask, not necessarily good ventilation, and the clientele is often young and therefore potentially asymptomatic. This cocktail, on paper, is problematic. “
Additional costs
To limit the risks, the clubs must promise their regulars irreproachable sanitary conditions. Everyone is thus in tune to respect to the letter the protocol set by the government. The same, with a few details, as that of summer 2020. Until June 30 minimum, establishments will have to respect a 50% gauge, two meters of distance between each practitioner, one person per machine, the obligatory mask except moments of effort, ventilation of collective classrooms, as well as traceability of members.
Many rooms will also operate by registration, to make sure you don’t exceed the gauge. Like all managers interviewed, Céline Rémy-Wisselink, co-founder of the Neoness rooms, sees these health restrictions favorably. “This protocol is completely acceptable. We have already practiced it. We know how to do it, we are well established “
The example of the United States, where collective contaminations in the sports hall are on the increase, can nevertheless be worrying. In France, this risk of contamination, some establishments deny it, others fear it. “Of course that worries us, there is no such thing as zero risk. But it is up to us to ensure that the protocol is respected as best as possible to reduce the danger ”, concedes Basile Lombard-Latune, Managing Director of La Montgolfière, “Social sport club” from 10e district of Paris.
You have 54.11% of this article to read. The rest is for subscribers only.