AMMAN — When the COVID-19
pandemic first spread to Jordan, the government acted swiftly, implementing a series
of stringent preventative health measures across the country including a
nationwide lockdown and ordering the closure of several sectors.
اضافة اعلان
Some businesses by nature
require people to share equipment and be in close proximity to each other in an
enclosed space. These businesses have been among the hardest hit financially
since the pandemic first struck the Kingdom.
Gyms are one such type of
business. Following monthslong
lockdowns, government mandates requiring
gymgoers to be fully vaccinated have made it difficult for gym owners to make
up for their losses.
Haitham Baroudi, an athlete
who owns a gym, told
Jordan News that “the protocol issued by the
government relating to the opening of gyms is unclear.”
“Most of the workers and the
members are younger than 30 years old, and they have not
been vaccinated yet — some are even unwilling to get vaccinated,”
Baroudi explained.
“Why it is not a condition
to be vaccinated when going to malls or cafes?” he asked. “Why is it only
stipulated for
gym members to be vaccinated?”
Gyms are at risk of closing due to owners’
inability to pay rent or pay bank installments, said Mohammad Najjar, a
personal trainer who spoke to
Jordan News.
Najjar added that "Our
gym may close its doors if the situation continues as it is now; our losses are
great due to the previous lockdown decisions, and now we can barely
survive."
Gym owners say the
government should intervene by helping them find solutions to the problem, as
for many people working out is an “essential part of their lifestyle”.
"I believe that if you
allow people to go to weddings, hotels, and malls without being vaccinated, you
should also allow them to go the gym — there is nothing different,” Najjar
contended.
A source at the Jordanian
Federation for Bodybuilding and Fitness, who spoke to
Jordan News on
condition of anonymity, said that "a number of academy owners are
threatened with imprisonment as a result of their inability to fulfill their
(financial) obligations."
The source added that
"we demand that the government pay attention to this vital sector,”
stressing that “40,000 families” benefit from the job opportunities the sector
provides.
The source said that the
government had not set up a compensation program for those in the sector who
had lost their jobs. “What shall they do now? This was their only source of
livelihood and now they’ve lost it,” the source concluded.
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