Gyms, recreation facilities and entertainment venues to reopen as South Australian Government reverses lockdown measures

The South Australian Government has announced a reversal of its lockdown measures with people to be allowed out of their homes from midnight tomorrow, with gyms, recreation facilities and entertainment venues to also be permitted to reopen.

The easing of lockdown measures, three days earlier than planned, results from the person whose case triggered the South Australian Government’s response was found to have lied to contact tracers.

The person said they tested positive after picking up a pizza from a take-away restaurant, the same business where a security guard from one of the hotel quarantine facilities worked part time. In fact, they had worked two shifts at the business in the days before testing positive.

Fitness Australia has applauded South Australian Premier Steven Marshall’s announcement today on the easing, saying that the opening of indoor fitness and recreation facilities from Sunday was excellent news for the state’s fitness industry and gym members.

Elvish announced “today’s announcement is excellent news for fitness businesses, exercise professionals and the thousands of employees who can now get back to work and provide an essential service to our community.

“For the community and the nearly 250,000+ South Australians who have a gym membership, they can now look forward to getting back into their gym routine after a short hiatus. Accessing a fitness facility is essential for people who use exercise to maintain their mental health, physical health and overall wellbeing and we applaud Premier Marshall’s focus on people’s health and wellbeing.”

Highlighting an estimated nine million check-ins to South Australian gyms since 1st January 2020 with not one recorded case of transmission in a gym at any stage, Elvish added “as an industry, we have strict COVID-Safe protocols in place to protect everyone and businesses will do whatever is required to keep members and staff safe. We’ve had an unblemished record in SA with more than 9 million visits to a gym since January this year and not one case of COVID-19 transmission.

“We know gyms are safe and today’s announcement signals a more realistic approach to giving people much needed access to essential services that improve their long-term health.”