DC refuses waiver for gyms to hold maskless, vaccinated-only workouts

A coalition of gyms in D.C. had hoped to be given a waiver of the recent mask mandate by opening only to vaccinated people, but DC Health says that’s not going to happen.

“The guidance in the District is all people over the age of two must wear a mask indoors, regardless of vaccination status,” DC Health said in a statement Friday evening. “Waivers will not be granted to gyms or facilities on the mask mandate.

The DC Fitness Alliance, which formed last year, recently approached D.C. leaders with an offer that echoed policies enacted in other places, including New York City, “allowing us to move to a vaccinated-only format, but allow our clients in that format to remove their masks,” said Bryan Myers, president of Solidcore.

The alliance consisted of over a dozen gyms with facilities in the city.

Mayor Muriel Bowser reintroduced the mask mandate as community transmission increased in the city and across the country.


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Looking for more information? D.C., Maryland and Virginia are each releasing more data every day. Visit their official sites here: Virginia | Maryland | D.C.


WTOP’s John Domen contributed to this report.

Zeke Hartner

Zeke Hartner is a digital writer/editor who has been with WTOP since 2017. He is a graduate of North Carolina State University’s Political Science program and an avid news junkie.

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