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Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli signed a four-page order posted on the front of Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, which drew national media attention when its owners allowed members to work out there beginning Monday in open defiance of a state shutdown order intended to protect public health and safety.
Co-owner Frank Trumbetti told reporters the gym would remain closed while attorneys were consulted. He also brought in cleanup crews early Thursday.
Local police had issued summonses each day that the gym was opened, as crowds cheered and TV cameras captured footage.
Then state health officials got directly involved.
Although its owners are trying to address COVID-19 concerns, "Atilis Gym is not approved to reopen under the terms of Executive Order No. 107, which reflect a judgment that it will not be administrable, enforceable, and/or otherwise sufficiently protective of public safety to simply allow businesses owners to set their own divergent health measures, done without approval of the State and its health officials," Persichilli’s order says.
“The community presence of the virus is still too great to allow for relaxation of the current mitigation measures that are in place and necessary to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 that commonly occurs in such congregate indoor settings," it says.
Even though the state has lifted bans on temporary outdoor activities, certain indoor operations “continue to present a significant risk,” the order says.
"Indoor gyms and fitness centers present particularly high-risk settings for the spread of COVID-19, in part because customers of these facilities engage in physical activities that increase the customers' respiratory activity, which in turn can increase the amount of respiratory droplets or aerosols in a confined setting," it adds.
Equipment such as barbells and treadmills could hold the virus, which “may live on plastic and steel surfaces for up to 72 hours," it says.
The department has the authority to "close, direct and compel the evacuation of, or to decontaminate or cause to be decontaminated, any facility of which there is reasonable cause to believe that it may endanger the public health," the order says.
"Failure to comply with the conditions of this order may result in criminal sanctions and/or civil penalties,” it adds.
.A fundraiser says that it intends to help pay the owner’s legal bills: Atilis Bellmawr Court Relief (GoFundMe)
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