At least one major gym in Toronto has now been impacted by concerns surrounding the 2019 novel coronavirus and its recent outbreak in Ontario.
GoodLife Fitness at 4950 Yonge Street, within the North York Madison Centre, closed down on Wednesday due to what a sign posted on the door described as "a possible case of the Corona Virus[sic]."
A member who had visited the gym intending to work out posted a photo of the sign to Reddit around noon on Wednesday.
"Our North York Madison Centre Club was closed at the request of the Landlord and Property Manager after a report of potential contact with COVID-19 was discovered in a different area of the building," confirmed Goodlife Fitness Public Relations Manager Adam Roberts on Thursday morning.
"The suspected case did not involve someone in our club, but out of an abundance of caution, we closed the club while our professional cleaning staff conducted a thorough cleaning and then reopened the same day."
Finally got off my ass to work out after a long break. But the universe has other plans... from r/pics
It is of note that this GoodLife location is within the same building complex as CDI College North York, which shut down unexpectedly on Wednesday for sanitization after administrators learned that one student's spouse has tested positive for the deadly coronavirus.
"CDI College has independently decided to close our North York campus for Wednesday, March 4, 2020 in order to do a thorough, proactive, preventative sanitization of the entire campus and classrooms," wrote the private careeer college in statement on Wednesday.
"Cleanings will continue daily to further prevent the spread of germs."
As of Thursday morning, 22 cases of coronavirus had been confirmed in Ontario, most of them within the GTA and all of them involving people who have recently travelled or come into close contact with someone who travelled to China, Iran, Egypt or Italy.
Four people have recovered from the virus locally while another 78 remain under investigation.
A Toronto college just shut down for the day to disinfect for coronavirus https://t.co/HYgPYw3Tt6 #Toronto pic.twitter.com/nlx9bY1yN3
— blogTO (@blogTO) March 4, 2020
Just over 93,000 people have been infected with COVID-19 around the globe, according to the World Health Organization, most of them in Asia. A total of 3,198 deaths have been reported to date, 214 of them outside China.
Public health officials maintain that the virus is not circulating in Ontario, but local businesses, residences and public agencies are nevertheless increasingly taking precautions against potential infections.
"Given the global circumstances, Ontario is actively working with city and health partners to plan for the potential of local spread," wrote the provincial government in a new release Thursday. "The province continues to carefully monitor this situation and encourage residents to stay informed by regularly reviewing credible information sources."
As for the 24-hour Goodlife Fitness in North York, it's back to business as usual.
"All of our clubs are currently open with normal operating hours and cleaning staff present every day," explains Roberts. "We also have industry-leading cleaning solutions located throughout our clubs for members and associates to clean equipment after using it."
"GoodLife is closely monitoring information and recommendations from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). We are sending out regular communication to keep our staff up to date and to provide them with best practices in handwashing and respiratory hygiene to mitigate the spread of any communicable illness."
by Lauren O'Neil via blogTO
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