Coronavirus: Equinox unveils reopening plan, including weekly visit limits and increased cleaning

NEW YORK -- Equinox has unveiled its reopening plan, which comes with ramped up cleaning and sanitation, health checks, limited club capacity, PPE, contactless features, and changes in etiquette.

Club officials said they had established a task force including medical and infectious disease experts to develop the reopening strategy.

It includes deep cleaning and disinfecting three times per day and once overnight, and designated areas will be sectioned of to facilitate the cleaning with adjusted club hours.

Members will be asked to book a visit using the Equinox app and will be limited to three 90-minute appointments in a seven-day period, with further visits available on a standby basis subject to club capacity.

Personal training, Pilates and group fitness sessions will be automatically booked for club members who are enrolled. There will also be 30 minutes between group fitness classes for disinfecting the studio and all equipment.

Lockers will be cleaned after each use, and members will be asked to use hand sanitizer when entering the club and frequently throughout their visit.

Member will be asked to wipe down equipment before and after use, and also disinfect phones and personal devices under touchless UV-C sanitizers. They will also be required to wear face masks at all times in the club, except while exercising, and will be provided with a plastic bag to store their mask while working out.

It is recommended but not required that members wear gloves.

Employees and members will also be required to submit to temperature checks before entering, complete a mandatory health declaration to confirm they are not experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or have come in contact with someone experiencing symptoms, and alert their club's general manager if they test positive within 14 days of their last club visit.

Showers, steam rooms, saunas, spa facilities, pools, Kids Club, coat check, basketball courts and team sport areas will remain closed during the initial reopening.

CLICK HERE for full details of the reopening plan.

Separately, Crunch Signature CEO Keith Worts says he hopes his gyms will be able to open by June 1 or June 15 but that it may stretch until July. He said some of his locations are already open in Georgia, but locations in the New York area could be weeks away from doing the same.

Crunch is placing signage in their clubs encouraging people to wipe down machines, and some equipment will be off limits to encourage social distancing.

Over the weekend, Soul Cycle told members that showers and locker rooms will be closed for the foreseeable future.