Peterborough Public Health says a recent new case of the novel coronavirus is connected with a fitness gym and club in the city’s north end.
According to the health unit, a positive case has connections with GoodLife Fitness at Portage Place plaza on Chemong Road.
“We can confirm that we identified a positive case (that) was at Goodlife on Chemong Road,” Kerri Tojcic, the health unit’s computer tech/analyst, told Global News Peterborough.
In a statement to Global News Peterborough, GoodLife Fitness’s public relations specialist Jacob Dearlove confirmed the individual had visited the club but has not been in any other GoodLife club since Sept. 10.
He said the club was informed of the positive COVID-19 case on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
“Out of an abundance of caution, upon receiving notice of this case from Peterborough Public Health, we promptly informed all members who were also in the club during this member’s workout from 4 p.m – 6 p.m. on September 10,” he said.
“We have not been made aware of any additional members or associates receiving positive test results, and we understand from public health that the risk of transmission is low.”
Dearlove says at the request of the health unit, the club provided letters on Thursday to its members to monitor for any symptoms of COVID-19.
“GoodLife has taken tremendous strides to implement measures that meet and exceed guidelines set out by local government and public health authorities and are designed to decrease the risk of transmission in our clubs, even if someone who tests positive has been in our facility,” he said.
“This includes enforcing all masking requirements established by public health authorities, ensuring proper physical distancing using way-finding signage and ensuring increased space between equipment and reducing capacity in all our clubs.”
He noted all GoodLife Fitness clubs also have thorough cleaning protocols in place, including a “constantly cleaning” philosophy with a focus on using hospital-grade cleaning solutions on high-touch areas and surfaces along with a nightly deep clean and sanitization using electrostatic disinfectant sprayers.
Before reopening its clubs, Dearlove said GoodLife has been working with two Toronto-based emergency room physicians to determine how to best identify and manage risk.
“The physicians, who are also healthcare design and behavioural psychology experts, helped establish comprehensive processes for when someone who has spent time in one of our clubs tests positive with COVID-19,” he said.
The health unit on Thursday reported one new case of COVID-19, increasing the region’s overall total to 111 with six active cases.
— More to come.