The COVID-19 pandemic turned the gym and fitness center industry upside down. Thousands of gyms were shut down in an effort to mitigate the spread of the disease, causing many of them to go out of business. While consumers are becoming more optimistic with the vaccine rollout, some people remain hesitant about returning to their gyms. According to an expert survey from March 2021, two-thirds of consumers remain hesitant to regularly venture out of home.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourages gyms and fitness studios to take a “layered approach” to minimize the spread of COVID-19, the Washington Post reports. Enforcing universal masking and physical distancing, increasing cleaning and disinfecting, promoting hand hygiene and improving ventilation and air filtration are a few of the recommendations shared.
The Power of Upper Air Germicidal Systems
The CDC suggests using upper-room ultraviolet germicidal irradiation systems as part of the layered approach. Installing these systems can strengthen consumers’ confidence and peace of mind when they evaluate gyms and fitness studio memberships.
Wade Anderson, owner of Orange Shoe Personal Fitness, heeded the CDC’s recommendations when he reopened his studios this spring. Anderson quickly recognized the importance of a layered approach to keep his customers and employees safe and healthy, prompting him to install PURIFII AER W by Luminii in his Chicago studio.
The system is 100 percent safe to use in highly occupied spaces, enabling gyms and fitness studios, like Orange Shoe Personal Fitness, to get back to business fast.
“The minimalist aesthetic look of PURIFII looks very clean and streamlines our space,” Anderson says. “I also like the fact that it doesn’t add any additional noise to our fitness studio! No maintenance is required. All you have to do is turn on the light switch and it starts working. Our clients can breathe easily with clean, disinfected air 24/7.”
Anderson notes PURIFII has added an extra layer of protection against COVID-19. “PURIFII has allowed us to increase our small group capacity so that the clients feel comfortable and safe while in group classes,” he says. “Our individual personal training clients have also commented on the increased health and safety measures that have been taken to ensure a safe training environment.”
Orange Shoe’s cleaning procedures and disinfection measures have remained the same, though the gym’s clients and staff know that air and space is even cleaner with PURIFII.
Clients in the gym often don’t notice PURIFII unless a staff member points it out. “We explain to them that PURIFII kills 99.9 percent of the SARS and COVID-19 viruses via UV light that cannot be seen, so you don’t even know it’s on,” Anderson states. “Our clients have thanked us for taking this extra step of precaution.”
PURIFII keeps clients safe and healthy while training at Orange Shoe Personal Fitness. “Our clients’ safety has always been our top priority, so this product has really shown our dedication to their health and safety while training at Orange Shoe Personal Fitness,” Anderson says.