A new directive from the Abu Dhabi Sports Council encourages all gym members to present a negative Covid-19 before entering their chosen establishment.
“Kindly encourage your visitors to preferably download Al Hosn application and commit to all instructions and safety procedures mentioned to overpass COVID-19 pandemic, and for their own safety,” read the email, sent to update an earlier directive on July 9 that the tests were required.
Gyms across Abu Dhabi were ordered to close in March as part of the government’s directives to prevent the spread of the virus. They were allowed to open for the first time on July 1.
Gilbert Dougherty, owner of Lift Crossfit, took to Instagram stories to explain the new directive to his members.
“This is the most recent regulation from Abu Dhabi Sports Council and as always we will keep you updated if anything changes,” he explained. “We are all in this together and this is the next step to keep Abu Dhabi safe.”
As part of a wave of phased-in reopening measures across the capital, gyms, fitness and yoga studios were allowed to reopen on July 1, provided they followed a series of safety measures. Those included having separate entrances for arriving and departing, a temperature test for members each time they enter, negative Covid-tests for staff and masks and gloves to be worn at all times.
Ann Marie McQueen
Ann Marie McQueen is the founding editor-in-chief of Livehealthy and host of The Livehealthy Podcast. She is a veteran Canadian digital journalist who has worked in North America and the Middle East. Her past roles include features editor for The National, trends writer and columnist for the Canadian newspaper chain Sun Media, and correspondent for CBC Radio.
