Dutchess, Orange, Ulster Counties Announce Plans To Reopen Gyms

Officials from the Hudson Valley announced gym reopening plans.

Dutchess County

All gyms in Dutchess County must:

1. Review and follow the Summary Guidelines HERE.
2. Review and follow the attached Detailed Guidelines HERE.
3. Complete and implement the Business Safety Plan Template HERE and maintain on-location for inspection.
4. Go to the link HERE and complete the Affirmation and hit submit, which will go to the state of New York. The State will notify the County within 24 hours of the receipt of the Affirmation. The County will then send you an acknowledgement email using the address provided in the Affirmation, and contact you to arrange an inspection.

If all of the above guidelines are followed any gym in Dutchess County can open on Monday, officials say.

Dutchess County will also allow indoor group fitness and aquatics classes. However, officials say this could change at any time for any reason, including an outbreak at a gym or fitness center, or locality, or an increase in the Dutchess County’s infection rate.

Dutchess County officials also say there will be a zero-tolerance policy.

"If an establishment is found to be out of compliance with regard to indoor group fitness and aquatics classes, the local government will issue a Cease and Desist order which will prohibit the activities indefinitely," the Dutchess Business Notification Network said in a press release.

Orange County

Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus has asked the County Health Department to undertake inspections to enable gyms to re-open in compliance with the Governor’s requirements. He is asking all gyms to email the following information to the Orange County Department of Health at envhealth@orangecountygov.com.

• Legal name, address and phone number of gym.
• Town, City, or Village where gym is located. This will enable inspections to be better coordinated.
• Owner(s) of gym.
• Name of responsible person at gym. This is the person or persons who will be responsible for ensuring ongoing compliance with the Governor’s requirements.
• List of any health-related, pandemic response improvements the gym has made in 2020.
• Posted occupancy limit of gyms (prior to the reduction to 33%).
• State whether your gym offers indoor classes. Under Governor Cuomo’s rule, Counties must approve the offering of indoor classes.
• Hours of operation when the gyms are available for inspection (must be between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday-Friday, weekends optional) through 9/7.

Gyms requesting inspection should plan on being open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday in order to facilitate inspection. If your facility is open and capable of being inspected on weekends, please supply that information. County inspectors will have County identification on them, may take photographs of the facility, and will ultimately leave gyms which pass inspection with a certificate of inspection.

Ulster County

Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan announced a "Gym Reopening Plan" to help local fitness centers get back into business as quickly and safely as possible.

Fitness center owners may contact the Ulster County Recovery Response Service Center at 845-443-888 or email RSC@co.ulster.ny.us(link sends e-mail) with any questions and visit here for more information. To schedule your inspection, please click here(link is external).

The following New York State guidelines listed below must be in place.

• Guidance for Gyms and Fitness Centers
• Capacity: 33% occupancy limit.
• Access: Sign-in with contact information and health screening required.
• PPE: Appropriate face coverings required at all times.
• Distancing: 6 feet of separation at all times.
• Hygiene/Cleaning: Cleaning and disinfection supplies made available to customers; shared equipment cleaned after every use; staff must also be available to clean and disinfect equipment in between uses; rental equipment must be cleaned and disinfected between customer use.
• Classes: By appointment/reservation only; maximum class capacity capped at number of people that can adhere to the 6-feet social distancing rules, but in no case more than 33% of the typical class size (i.e., leave stations, cycles, etc. vacant); classes should be scheduled to allow additional time for cleaning and disinfection in between each session.
• Amenities: Water bottle refill stations permitted, but not shared water fountains; communal showers are closed, but individual showers/stalls can remain open so long as they are cleaned in between use.
• Air Handling Systems: Gyms should operate at MERV-13 or greater; if they are unable to operate at that level, they must have heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) professional document their inability to do so and adopt additional ventilation and mitigation protocols from American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• Inspection: Local health departments shall inspect before or within two weeks of the gym/fitness center opening to ensure compliance.