TORONTO —
Canada’s biggest gym chain has closed all its locations across the country in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Goodlife Fitness and Fit4Less Clubs chief executive David Patchell-Evans made the announcement late Sunday night.
“As the virus continues to spread in communities across Canada we have made the difficult but important decision to close all GoodLife Fitness Clubs across Canada, effective immediately,” the statement read.
“We know that exercise is extremely important to an individual’s physical and mental health and we are currently working on digital at-home fitness options.”
The company has pledged to pay its staff for the next two weeks to “lessen the burden of this tremendous change.”
It added that member payments will be suspended as of March 17 and “paid-in-full memberships will be put on freeze until further notice and expiry dates will be extended accordingly.”
YMCA Canada, which also runs health clubs across the country, said “decisions regarding the status of programs and services will be made by local YMCA Member Associations.”
The YMCA of Greater Toronto has decided to close all its centres until April 5, with the YMCAs of Quebec closing theirs until March 29.
Meanwhile, other recreation options are disappearing as businesses across the globe respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
Bars and restaurants
While many bars and restaurants remain open, some are limiting their capacity and spacing customers further apart as part of the social-distancing advice issued by health authorities.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said his city is not telling restaurants and bars to close or limit their capacity at this time.
In Quebec, Premier François Legault has asked restaurants to limit their capacity to 50 per cent, in order to create more space between customers.
Meanwhile, food delivery service SkipTheDishes has suspended cash payments as a precaution to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Customers also have the option of requesting contactless delivery orders, the food-delivery service told CTV News in a statement. Restaurant partners have been advised to seal all takeout bags to limit exposure and unnecessary contact.
Coffee giant Starbucks is moving to a take-out model at its stores in Canada for at least two weeks, over concern about the new coronavirus.
Tim Hortons parent company Restaurant Brands International Inc. has asked its Canadian restaurant owners to provide take-out, drive-thru and delivery only.
The company said Monday it is closing all “dining room” seating at Tim Hortons effective Tuesday and will continue the closures until further notice.
Cinemas
Canada’s largest movie chain Cineplex announced last week that it is using “enhanced cleaning protocols” in all its buildings and has halved its capacity in all its “1,693 theatre auditoriums across Canada to allow for social-distancing.”
The second biggest cinema operator Landmark has also decreased capacity by 50 per cent and increased the frequency of its cleaning in common areas.
Visitor and cultural attractions
Cultural institutions across the country are shutting their doors and calling off events because of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving some concerned for the health of Canada’s arts scene, The Canadian Press reports.
The National Museums of Canada said its public institutions will be closed Saturday until further notice.
A raft of visitor attractions in Toronto and elsewhere in Ontario have been shut out of concern for COVID-19.
City of Ottawa recreation and cultural facilities are now closed for the next three weeks.
Shopping
A number of retail business have decided to close their stores in a bid to protect staff and customers from COVID-19.
Vancouver-based clothing retailer Aritzia Inc. is closing all of its stores until further notice.
Similarly Nike has closed its stores in Canada until March 27.
And phone giant Apple has closed all its stores outside China until March 27.
– With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press
