Jon Le Tocq of Storm Force Fitness wrote to Policy & Resources vice-president Deputy Heidi Soulsby and Health & Social Care president Deputy Al Brouard about his concerns of not being able to continue offering online training during the lockdown.
He said that he could not do the sessions from home due to living in an apartment and being wary of making too much noise which would upset his neighbours.
He wanted to access 3,000sq ft of his 10,000sq ft fitness studio alone for one hour three times a week to record workouts.
Only having to touch the door, his laptop and one piece of equipment, which he could use gloves for if necessary, he failed to see why it would be a problem, saying his online sessions during the first lockdown had been called ‘life-savers’ for many of his members.
He spoke to someone from Public Health who assessed his situation on a case-by-case basis and gave him the go-ahead, but the decision was revoked the next day.
‘After conflicting decisions from those at the end of the business hotline and those at the very top, I’ve been left feeling quite dejected by the whole thing,’ he said.
‘I’m being led more and more to question whether we have a Health & Social Care department or a Medical Firefighting department.’
He failed to see the danger in trainers standing in front of a laptop in large spaces, compared to thousands of people touching products on shelves in supermarkets.
‘It is simply incomparable and boggles my mind,’ he said.
‘I maintain close relationships with all of my members and can tell you that I have already heard rumblings of mental health issues and even suicidal thoughts. This is no secret to anyone following the last lockdown and a BBC story saying 40% of people are exercising less during the second UK lockdown.
‘It doesn’t take a genius to work out that mental health damage will be rocketing.’
If that was not essential and worthy of more careful consideration, he did not know what was.
‘Give enough of the responsible, hard-working business owners and self-employed a little room to navigate, and this island will be much better positioned to power out of Covid rather than limp along for the next few years.
‘The vast majority of us are responsible adults who want to play by the rules whilst looking after each other and keeping the small business sectors going outside of the financial world and property market.’
He did not want to put more pressure on public finances by asking for ‘handouts’ when there were ‘perfectly simple’ ways to sustain the business.
Confronted with the argument that someone could just go for a run or do some push-ups, he said the importance of guided fitness should not be underestimated.
This was not an appeal for special treatment, but rather for all trainers, gyms and certain other business sectors to continue to serve the community.
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