After months of Corona closure, the fitness studios in Germany are reopened. But the fear of Corona remains. The wasteland is upgrading with air filters.
One lockdown after another: the corona pandemic has also plunged the fitness industry into a nightmare. The facilities have been open again in all federal states since the beginning of June. And the battle for customers has begun. According to the Employers’ Association of German Fitness and Health Systems (DSSV), the number of members in the studios fell by 13 percent to 10.31 million in 2020. In the pre-crisis year 2019, there were 11.6 million members.
The big wave of bankruptcies did not materialize for the time being thanks to state aid. And the rainy summer in the past few weeks has resulted in an influx of new members. However, the operators also used the lockdown period to upgrade and counteract one of the greatest concerns of their customers: the fear of contagion. “Many studios have used the bridging aids 3 and equipped their systems with filter systems to purify the room air,” reported the spokesman for the fitness association working group, Paul Underberg stern.
At the beginning of the Corona crisis, several fitness associations came together under the umbrella of the fitness association working group to represent the interests of the industry. There are still no exact figures as to how many operators have actually used the bridging aid offer, but the percentage is high, according to Underberg.
“The entrepreneurs were able to draw on the full potential. They could equip their studios according to the ceiling height, the number of rooms and the air volume. And the state paid for it,” said the spokesman. “Everyone had this opportunity and six months to take advantage of it.”
Underberg also equipped its studios with air filters from Deconta. In a test by the Fraunhofer Institute, the devices were able to reduce the number of active viruses in a closed room by 99.43 percent after 45 minutes of operation.
Air purifiers are not a guarantee of protection against corona
However: not all air filters are the same. The differences in quality are great. Not all air purifiers on the market can remove virus particles and keep the air circulating properly.
It should also be noted: Air purifiers are no guarantee of protection against the coronavirus. Even though you can reduce the risk of infection with a good air purifier. The individual athlete is therefore still in demand. The following applies: Comply with mask requirements, disinfect devices and hands, if possible not use the changing rooms and keep the training short and crisp.
