LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Just hours before they were supposed to resume activities, a federal appeals court is halting the reopening of Michigan’s gyms.
On Wednesday night the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a 3 to 0 decision that gyms and fitness centers must remain closed, allowing Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order to remain in place. Indoor gyms have been shut down for months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney struck down portions of the governor’s executive order, including the blanket ban on the reopening of gyms and workout facilities statewide.
The motion was made at the request of the League of Independent Fitness Facilities and Trainers Inc. and a group of 22 companies operating gyms in Michigan.
Gym officials had argued in their suit against the state that the continued ban on fitness centers violates the businesses’ rights to due process, equal protection and commerce law — violations they argued “do not survive even rational basis review.”
On Monday, Maloney denied a request to delay the reopening of the gyms and fitness facilities, so they were set to reopen at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.
He stated that Whitmer’s administration had failed to provide evidence correlating gyms to the pandemic.
But a day before their expected reopening, the late night appeals court decision stated that the governor’s order to keep fitness centers closed must remain in place while an appeal of Judge Maloney’s decision was heard.
Representatives from Whitmer’s administration maintain that gyms are high-risk areas, considering it’s an enclosed space with activity between many people.
Governor Whitmer did state that she hopes to reopen gyms, movie theaters and some other remaining businesses by the 4th of July holiday, but only if coronavirus cases remain low.
For now, some fitness centers have begun offering outdoor classes and activities in place of indoor gym workouts, such as the YMCA of Kalamazoo. More information on those programs can be found here.
